The much-awaited Kyoto Protocol will enter into force on February 16, 2005, becoming legally enforceable on all parties that have ratified the treaty. The treaty aims to curtail the emission of greenhouse gases (ghg) into the atmosphere, which is believed to cause global warming. The enforcement of the treaty was made possible because Russia recently ratified it and deposited its instrument of ratification with the un secretary-general on November 18, 2004.

On the same day, the first project of Clean Development Mechanism (cdm) was registered. The project would reduce the emission of methane from a landfill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by capturing the gas and using it to generate electricity. The cdm is a cheap mechanism available to developed countries under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce their ghg emissions by investing in projects in developing countries rather than in more expensive projects in their own countries.