The Protocol was passed in Kyoto in 1997 on the basis of a UN convention held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Signatories have committed to reducing greenhouse gases between 2008 and 2012, thus diminishing man's negative impact on climate change.
Croatia signed the Protocol in 1999 but ratified it only today due to long negotiations aimed at securing an equal position as the other signatories with regard to the limited annual emission of greenhouses gases, according to the government.
The Protocol, taking 1990 as year zero, envisages limiting the emission of greenhouse gases to 31.12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which Croatian negotiators said would return Croatia to 1974 and obstruct its industrial development. Last year, they managed to negotiate a 34.62 million tonne limit owing to the fact that Croatia is a transition country which until recently had been at war.
The Kyoto Protocol envisages a higher energy efficiency through a reduction of energy consumption and a higher usage of renewable sources such as wind farms, hydro-electric power plants, biomass and solar energy, gas instead of oil, among other things.
Also today, the parliamentary majority endorsed the government's report on the use of money from European Union pre-accession funds and rejected an interpellation request in which the Social Democrats and the People's Party accused the government of neglecting parliamentary conclusions on the obligation to regularly report to the Sabor about the drawing of money from the funds and of thus covering up the poor exploitation of non-returnable EU money.
The Sabor also adopted a report on last year's implementation of the law on the rights of war veterans and their families.
Parliament adopted a decision on a new name for the body in charge of the civilian monitoring of secret services, in accordance with the new law on the security and intelligence system. The body is now called the Council for the Civilian Supervision of Security and Intelligence Agencies.
Deputies ratified a memorandum of agreement between the Croatian government and the United Kingdom on the holding of military exercises.
Pero Kovacevic of the Party of Rights protested against the decision not to conclude the 25th Sabor session today and schedule a new one but to resume the current session in three weeks. He accused Speaker Vladimir Seks of wanting to avoid Question Time, usual for the start of every new session, when deputies put questions to members of the government.
Seks said a session could end only when the agenda had been exhausted, which was not the case now.
The Sabor concluded today's sitting and will reconvene for the 25th session on May 16.