RAS question
Which COP (Conference of the Parties) of the UNFCCC resulted in the Kyoto Protocol?
Correct answer: (B) COP-3.
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted at COP-3 of the UNFCCC in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997.
Explanation
COP-3 is the relevant conference because the Kyoto Protocol was adopted there in 1997 at Kyoto, Japan. The UNFCCC source records the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol on 11 December 1997 and links that adoption context to COP 3. Its importance lies in moving beyond general climate-policy commitments: the protocol operationalised the UNFCCC by committing industrialised countries and economies in transition to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to agreed targets. It became the first legally binding international agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries. For RAS, the key memory hook is simple: Kyoto Protocol equals COP-3, 1997, Kyoto.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) COP-15 is wrong because the adoption evidence for the Kyoto Protocol is tied to COP-3 and the 1997 Kyoto meeting, not to COP-15.
- (C) COP-21 is wrong because the Kyoto Protocol had already been adopted at COP-3 in 1997, so COP-21 is not the adopting conference.
- (D) COP-1 is wrong because COP 3 was the Kyoto meeting where the protocol was adopted.
Concept
This tests international environmental conventions under Environment and Ecology, especially the mapping between climate agreements and COP sessions. It recurs in RAS because questions often ask for agreement-COP-year pairings rather than long treaty details.