Compliance with the Climate Change Obligations: The Kyoto Protocol Compliance Mechanism

Abstract

“Procedures and Mechanisma on Compliance Under the Kyoto Protocol” was adopted by the Kyoto Protocol First Meeting of Parties at Montreal in 2005. The Compliance Com- mittee which constitutes of Facilitative Branch and Enforcement Branch, started to ope- rate in 2006. While the Enforcement Branch deserves a special attention due to its inno- vative quasi-judicial characteristics, the mandate of the Facilitative Branch have many si- milarities with the Non-Compliance Procedures which is already applicable for various Multilateral Environmental Agreements, predominantly the Montreal Protocol. The out- comes of the ongoing climate change negotiations for post-2012 will possibly shape and guide the necessary changes to the Kyoto Protocol compliance regime as well. Thereupon, the purpose of this article is to shed light on the structure and functioning of the comp- liance mechanism; the mandates used by the Facilitative and Enforcement Branches; the legal nature of the decisions taken by the Compliance Committee.

Keywords

UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, Compliance Committee, Facilitative Branch, Enforcement Branch.

Citation

Anlar Güneş, Şûle, “Compliance with the Climate Change Obligations: The Kyoto Protocol Compliance Mechanism”, International Relations, Volume 8, Issue 31 (Fall 2011), pp. 69-94.

Affiliations

• Şûle ANLAR GÜNEŞ, Assoc. Prof., Middle East Technical University, Department of International Relations