Please wait...
On February 16, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol ("the Protocol") finally became part of international law. In the years following its signing in 1997, The Protocol appeared at times destined to never make it to this point, particularly when George Bush confirmed its rejection by the United States in 2001. Critically, however, after two years of delays, and some serious lobbying by the European Union, Russia did ratify the Protocol in December 2004, enabling the Protocol to come into force.