Pursuing the goals of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, delegates from 122 nations met in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss a treaty that would ban 12 highly toxic chemicals that have historically proved detrimental to humans and the environment. Clean-up funds were pledged. The meeting was considered by some to be an unsuccessful reiteration of the Kyoto Protocol, but it was agreed that the resultant proposed treaty would take effect only when 50 or more nations had ratified it.
