For the first time, the Protocol negotiated by the third Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto sets legally binding emission targets for the commitment period 2008-2012 for the industrial countries and countries in transition listed in Annex I....

The authors suggest a multi-layered system of three convergence criteria - similar to those used in the run-up to the European monetary union - that define the notion of "demonstrable progress" towards reaching the emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. These are the existence of an...