Column 1-This column is based on an official compilation by the Climate Convention Secretariat of national government reports about whether or not they expect to meet the commitment made at the 1992 Rio Conference. That commitment states that, by 2000, nations should reduce national emissions to 1990 levels. Those countries that expect their emissions to exceed 1990 levels have been assessed as "red" and those that expect them to be below 1990 levels have been assessed as "green".

Some countries have made adjustments to their projections by changing the base year for temperature adjustments (as 1990 was a warm year) or as a result of electricity trading (Denmark). As the technical position regarding these adjustments has not been resolved, WWF has graded these countries (Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland) as "yellow".

Very few countries are green: Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Russia, and the UK. In the former Soviet block, economic restructuring seriously affected industrial activity and thus energy consumption. Both Germany and the UK show cuts, but there have been special, non-climate policy conditions operating in these countries: the reunification of Germany and the switch from coal to gas in the UK.