The Kyoto Protocol, approved by the "Parties Conference"- a sort of executive organ of the World Conference on Environment and Development - in its third plenary session held in Kyoto from the 1st to the 10th December 1997, contains  the first decisions on the operative actuation of some of the most urgent short-term commitments, that is those concerning the limitation of the possibilities of global climate changes, such as for example the emissions into the atmosphere of gases and polluters that can increase the natural greenhouse effect of out planet.

The Kyoto Protocol therefore pinpoints and defines operatively only a very limited part of the actions to be carried out:  for the moment it commits the industrialised countries and those in transitionary economy (Eastern European countries) to reduce on the whole by 5% the main emissions of the so-called greenhouse gases within 2010, and that would mean carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen protoxide, of hydrate fluorocarbides, of perfluorocarbides and sulphur esafluorides.

Kyoto does not therefore represent, as it is pointed out by various parts, an arrival point, but rather a shy beginning to contain climate and sustainable development problems.

The overall reduction of 5%, however, is not the same for all. For the European Union countries on the whole, the reduction must be of 8%, for the United States the reduction must be of 7% and for Japan 6%. No reduction, but only stabilisation is provided for the Russian Federation. New Zealand and Ukraine. Emissions can on the other hand be increased by 1% by Norway,  until 8% by Australia and up to 10% in Iceland.

No type of limitation to greenhouse effect gases emissions is applied to Developing countries, because such a restraint, as was already discussed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, would slow down, or in any case condition, their path towards socio-economical development.