Iran in Kyoto Protocol.

Iran took a step towards signing the Protocol Kyoto, which aims to cut global warming, with the participation of government and oil industry officials in a UN-supported workshop aimed at studying the impact signing up would have on the oil-rich country. President Ahmadinejad also called for naming the year 2011 as the Year for Reformation of Consumption Patterns and announced Iran's preparedness for continued cooperation, especially in regard to appropriate usage of energy sources and nationalization of environmental technologies. Ahmadinejad said Iran is ready to hand over the results and outcomes of its studies and experiments to other countries for usage of clean energies. Islamic Republic of Iran considers protection of the environment as a serious obligation based on religious and ideological teachings, and in accordance to Iran's Constitution.

Oil industry sources say Iran is reluctant to join because it is concerned it could adversely affect its crude oil exports, which currently stands at about two million barrels per day (bpd). If the Kyoto Protocol commitments were applied as established, they would mean losses of up to US $63 billion per year for the Organization's Member Countries. Losses on such a large scale would clearly be unsustainable for the economies of OPEC Member Countries and other oil-producing nations.

But the Protocol has market-oriented provisions, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which would encourage international investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy within developing countries such as Iran.

The Clean Development Mechanism is the only Kyoto Protocol mechanism relevant to Iran's context. CDM was discussed at length as both an instrument for technology transfer and an effective green house gas mitigation mechanism. Thus, awareness-raising through this unprecedented workshop has been a major strategy to facilitate the debate on whether Iran should accede to the Kyoto Protocol.