 l Kyoto, Japan (1997): The Kyoto Protocol set binding obligations on industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5% below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. after years of negotiations, it finally went into force in 2005 and almost all countries have now ratified the treaty with the notable exception of the US.  l Some countries and regions, including the EU, were on track by 2011 to meet or exceed their Kyoto goals, but other large nations were falling short. The two biggest emitters, the US and China, have churned out more than enough extra greenhouse gas to erase all the reductions made by other countries during the Kyoto period.  l Copenhagen (2009): This was supposed to decide the new post-2012 treaty and include stronger action on mitigation by all countries. It resulted in no legally binding agreement and a deal that environmentalists claimed did little to cut emissions.  ENDS