5 September 2006 -- Hungary, Japan and New Zealand have submitted the first three ‘initial reports under the Kyoto Protocol’ to the UNFCCC secretariat. This constitutes an essential step for the countries to become eligible to participate in the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms, including international emissions trading.

The reports have been submitted as result of a requirement stipulated in the ‘rule book’ of the Kyoto Protocol, the Marrakesh Accords, adopted at COP/MOP1 in Montreal. Among other things, the accords request the Parties to facilitate the calculation of the ‘assigned amount’ by Parties. The secretariat will organize reviews of the initial reports by international experts, including visits to Budapest, Tokyo and Wellington, during the next 12 months. 

After the successful outcome of these reviews, the governments of Hungary, Japan and New Zealand will issue ‘assigned amount units’, which are tradable under the Kyoto Protocol. Total greenhouse gas emissions from these three countries add up to more than 1.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in their respective base years.

The initial reports are published on the UNFCCC website.