In one of his first acts as Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Kevin Rudd MP ratified the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2007.[1] Under this international agreement, Australia is committed to maintaining its national greenhouse gas emissions at (or below) 108 per cent of its 1990 emission levels for each year from 2008 to 2012.

Australia’s 108 per cent Kyoto Protocol target is strictly defined by the accounting rules established by the UNFCCC Secretariat. Such rules set out the methods for calculating and reporting country allowances. Within the accounting rules there are mechanisms available which, to a limited extent, facilitate the task of meeting the 2012 target. The rules also provide some flexibility so that countries with particular economic, environmental or industrial situations may, through certain avenues, tailor their commitments according to their circumstances.

This paper summarises the key accounting provisions of the Kyoto Protocol and presents Australia’s decisions with respect to the electives, and its ensuing obligations under the Kyoto Protocol treaty.