The Kyoto Protocol was the first major international treaty specifically limiting greenhouse-gas emissions.
It was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol established binding emission-reduction targets for many developed countries during its first commitment period, covering 2008 through 2012.
Its structure reflected the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities: industrialized countries accepted quantified targets because they had contributed most of the historical emissions. The United States signed but never ratified the protocol, and developing countries did not receive the same binding targets under its original design.
The Doha Amendment created a second commitment period from 2013 to 2020. The later Paris Agreement used a broader approach in which nearly all countries submit nationally determined climate pledges, so the two agreements are related but not interchangeable.