10 August 2015: Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol have entered the final 100 days of the Kyoto Protocol’s accounting period, during which they can make up any shortfall in meeting their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol first commitment period.

The 100-day period, referred to as the “true-up” period, began on 10 August 2015 and will end on 18 November 2015. The true-up period was established by Decision 27/CMP.1, which provides that, for the purpose of fulfilling their Kyoto Protocol emission reduction targets, Annex I Parties can continue to acquire emission reduction units, certified emission reductions (CERs), assigned amount units (AAUs) and removal units, up to the 100th day after the date set for the completion of the Article 8 expert review process for the last year of the commitment period.

The Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) set 10 August 2015 for completion of the Article 8 review, and on 10 July 2015, the last annual review report of individual parties’ greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories was published. This enabled the true-up period to commence on 10 August.

The true-up period gives Annex I Parties the opportunity to acquire Kyoto Protocol units to bridge any shortfall in achieving their emission reduction targets. The UNFCCC Secretariat will publish, on 30 September, preliminary information on the actual situation of each Party’s emissions and units. After the 100-day period, the Secretariat will coordinate a comprehensive compliance assessment that is expected to be completed in early 2016 and a final report will then be published for each party which had a target in the first commitment period. [UNFCCC Press Release] [True-up Period Reporting and Review Process Webpage]