Assessing CO2 Emissions Reduction: Progress toward the Kyoto Protocol Goals in the European Union

The second phase of the Kyoto Protocol began in 2008.  European nations had committed to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) by an average of 8 percent from the base year 1990 by the end of 2012. A little less than half of the actual reduction in GHG emissions was achieved by implementing a market-based cap and trade mechanism. In this paper we evaluate the effectiveness of cap and trade as the preferred method for reducing carbon emissions.  To do this, an examination is made of emissions for 14 European countries that are the largest GHG emitters in Europe. We conclude that using cap and trade in combination with other measures that reduce GHG emissions led to the EU achieving its Kyoto Protocol goals.