ABSTRACT
The Kyoto Protocol, together with the Climate Change Convention on which it rests, establishes the basic structure of commitments and mechanisms agreed by national representatives for addressing climate change. It represents the culmination of nine years of learning and institution building, domestically and internationally, following the establishment of the IPCC in 1988. As indicated by the analysis in the previous chapters, it still leaves many open questions and much to be resolved. This final chapter discusses the prospects for the Kyoto regime: the time scales established, the prospects for ratification and entry into force, and some of the bigger outstanding questions about the long-term evolution of the regime.
