WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/CTE/W/174
23 October 2000
(00-4378)
Committee on Trade and Environment Original:  English
THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON
CLIMATE CHANGE (UNFCCC)
Communication from the UNFCCC Secretariat
This background paper is circulated to Members of the CTE in preparation for the MEA
Information Session on 24 October 2000.
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. This communication is a follow-up of the earlier communications from the Secretariat of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to the Committee on Trade and
Environment.
2. The purpose of this communication is to summarize the recent negotiations on the
development of Procedures and mechanisms on Compliance under the Kyoto Protocol.
II. COMPLIANCE UNDER THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
3. The negotiations on the development of procedures and mechanisms on compliance under the
Kyoto Protocol are progressing with the aim of  adopting a decision on the establishment of a
Compliance Committee, consisting of two branches – for facilitative and enforcement functions.  The
enforcement branch is likely to be composed of a majority of members with legal experience.  There
is as yet no consensus on provisions for appeal.
4. A majority of Parties are in favour of legally binding consequences, for one or more
commitments. In the current text, the consequences , in particular for exceeding emission reduction
targets, include a combination of:
- Recommended policies and measures;
- action plan on how the shortfall will be met;- loss of full or partial access to the Kyoto mechanisms;
- requirement to restore the excess tonnes in the subsequent commitment period;
- mandatory financial payments.
5. There is an emerging consensus that a strong compliance system should be developed to
facilitate the operation of the market based mechanisms and to ensure the environmental integrity of
the Kyoto Protocol.
III. STATUS OF RATIFICATION
6. The status of ratification of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol can be accessed from the
web-site of the UNFCCC Secretariat (http://www.unfccc.int/resouce/conv/ratlist).
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