The First Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Berlin, March-April 1995) decided that a Protocol to the Convention should be negotiated and be ready for approval by the Third Conference of the Parties (Kyoto, December 1997). The guidelines for the negotiation of such a protocol are contained in the resolution known as the Berlin Mandate, and the negotiating body established for this purpose is the Ad hoc Working Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM).

This document contains proposals for the substantive elements of the Protocol to the Convention, for consideration by the AGBM at its seventh session (July 1997). The proposal is divided into three parts:

Part I, is an executive summary, containing some key elements relevant to the negotiation of the Protocol.

Part II, is the proposal itself, in the form of text for the Protocol.

Part III, with technical appendices, contains an extended explanation of the basic concepts and proposals, together with some illustrative elements.