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The “agreement the first to formally require industrialized countries to cut emissions” refer to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC, signed in 1992, is an international environmental treaty that aims to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.

The UNFCCC was the first international agreement to require industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The treaty recognized that developed countries have historically been responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions and that they have a greater responsibility to undertake mitigation efforts.

Under the UNFCCC, developed countries committed to stabilizing their greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000. However, this goal was not met, and in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted as an extension of the UNFCCC to set stronger emission reduction targets for developed countries.

The Kyoto Protocol required developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5% below 1990 levels by 2012. Each country was given a specific target to meet based on their historical emissions. The protocol also established a market-based mechanism called the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allowed developed countries to earn emission credits by investing in emission reduction projects in developing countries.

While the Kyoto Protocol was a significant step in the international response to climate change, it was not without its challenges. The United States, one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, refused to ratify the protocol, and some developed countries failed to meet their emissions targets.

In 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted, replacing the Kyoto Protocol as the primary international agreement on climate change. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty that aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Under the Paris Agreement, all countries, including developing countries, are required to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) outlining their climate action plans. Developed countries are expected to provide financial and technological support to developing countries to help them meet their climate goals.

In conclusion, the UNFCCC was the first international agreement to formally require industrialized countries to cut emissions. While its targets were not met, it paved the way for subsequent agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, which have set more ambitious emissions reduction targets and engaged all countries in climate action.