On February 16th 2005, the first international treaty to cut carbon dioxide emissions came into effect. The treaty is known as 'the Kyoto Protocol', named after the Japanese city where negotiations began in 1997.
Reaching an agreement has been a long struggle - click on the timeline to find out more.
While some people hail the Kyoto Protocol as a great success in international co-operation, others think that the agreement will fail without the USA, the biggest polluter. With only 4% of the world's population, the USA now releases 6.7 billion metric tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year - nearly a quarter of the world's total. Go to the Individual Action page to find out how some people have protested over the US position.
The birth of the Kyoto Protocol should kick-start trade in a new commodity - carbon! On January 1st 2005, the European Union began the world's first carbon trading scheme as a way of meeting the Kyoto target to make an 8% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2012.
What next?
The carbon trade could become a multi-billion pound industry like the trade in precious metals and oil. The value of carbon has already gone up by 20% since Russia signed up to the Kyoto Protocol but no-one can predict the future.
Look at these possible situations that might influence the future market price of carbon. Decide whether they are most likely to lead to an increase or a decrease in price, and drag them into the right column.
In 2008, Europe's scheme could be rolled out into a worldwide trade in carbon when the Kyoto Protocol's carbon permits for countries come into force.
Some companies have already taken the lead in cutting emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide - others have not. Go to the next page to find out more.
