The Berlin mandate incorporates certain pointers to what should be the elements in a future protocol to be adopted at the third Conference of Parties (COP-3) in 1997. The most important of these elements are as follows:
• Governments agree that the proposal of the Alliance of Small Island States, calling for a 20 per cent reduction in emissions from industrialised countries by the year 2005, should be included for consideration in future negotiations and that these negotiations will have to be finalised by COP-3 in 1997.

• There is also an agreement over the inadequacy of the existing commitments listed for industrialised nations in Article 4.2 (a) and (b) of the UNFCCC.

• Governments agree that no new commitments should be introduced for developing countries, but that the existing general commitments listed in Article 4.1 should be reaffirmed in order to advance their implementation. This would serve to achieve sustainable development in the South and take into account the existing commitments of the OECD to transfer finances and technologies.

• Governments also are in agreement that based on the 1990 levels, new reduction targets and timetables for industrialised nations are needed under the climate convention for the period beyond the year 2000.

• It has been decided to elaborate policies as well as measures, and to set quantified limitation and reduction objectives within specified timeframes, such as 2005, 2010, 2020, for anthropogenic (human-induced) emissions by sources such as CO2 and methane, and removals of greenhouse gases by sinks (such as forests).