Kyoto Protocol Is The Emission Of Green House Gas ( Ghg ) Over The World?

The UNFCCC was established in 1994 to address climate change at an international level. Since then, the parties to the convention (including the EU) meet annually in Conferences of the Parties. The Kyoto Protocol (1997) set an obligation for developed countries to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, through setting national targets, using 1990 as a base level. The UK has been one of only a few countries to comply with the international obligation and has reduced GHG emissions since 1990.

The UNFCCC is working with the various governments around the world to stabilize the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere to keep the planet from warming more than 2ºC above pre-industrial temperatures (Watts, 2015). The most noted of the work is the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings that began with COP1 in Berlin back in 1995. The COP3 adopted the Kyoto Protocol, even though it wasn’t fully accepted by all member nations. The COP21 was an effort to legally bind members to their submitted plans of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), defining what level of greenhouse gas production each nation would commit to not exceeding from 2025-2030. Prior to the INDCs, a bleak outlook was forecast in 2009-2010 of global temperature rising between 4-5ºC. That figure was restated by the UNFCCC prior to the COP21 in Paris, to below 3ºC, due to the commitments of the INDCs (Watts, 2015).

As we can see, the sense of urgency of this policy has kindled some sort of energy revolution in the world's developing nations. The Kyoto Protocol cannot perhaps be attributed with all the credit for this revolution, however it must have at the least given these nations a workable justification behind any changes that previously would have been unacceptable.

Its adoption in 1997 and ratification in 2002 furthered the fight against anthropogenic interference with earth’s climate system. Canada’s commitment began with a goal to reduce GHGs by 6% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012, or 461 megatons (Canada and the Kyoto Protocol 2016). In order to achieve these goals, legal requirements expected policies and measures prepared by the participating countries to reduce GHGs, by utilizing all available mechanisms, including joint implementation to earn emissions reduction units (ERU) to be counted towards the target, the clean development mechanism and emissions trading (Kyoto Protocol 1997). Every year, on the date set forth, every participating country was expected to keep track of emissions limits and performance standards, develop spending or fiscal measures, as well their expectation for the next year and results from the previous (E. Canada 2013). When the first reduction timeline was up in 2008, instead of a decrease in emissions, Canada recorded an increase 24.1 percent higher than 1990 levels. The lack of commitment was superseded by the new government’s ‘Made in Canada” effort to push country-unified laws, though no significant changes were

In 1997, The Kyoto Protocol was adopted to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (EPA, n.d.). In spite of the international treaty, half of participating nations, including Canada failed to reducing its Co2 emissions (Clark, D., 2012, November 26).

Addressing this issue, there has been a few things done in result of eliminating this problem. One solution being The Kyoto Protocol, "...was the first agreement between nations to mandate country-by-country reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions ( 'Extract ', 2011)." During this process, countries agreed to cut their yearly emissions of greenhouse gases. "Some countries and regions, including the European Union, were on track by 2011 to meet or

Limiting emissions requires broad-based action across many sectors of the global economy. Australia’s air temperature has risen 0.9°C since 1910, illustrating the Global Warming due to the emissions of greenhouse gases. Australia has numerous initiatives that provide its population with tips on how to help the environment. Unlike many industrialized nations Australia is still heavily reliant on Non Renewable Resources such as coal. Australia and Japan have both signed the Kyoto Agreement which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Japan signed it in 2002, whereas Australia signed it in 2007. The time of which both countries signed, illustrates that Japan was more acceptable and ready for such a scheme and to do something about greenhouse gases. Japan was ranked 12th out of 176 countries in a 2013 Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index. Japan ranked 4th in Sustainable innovations which entails providing quality education, cultivating research and development, creating globally competitive products and services, and providing jobs and income for the population of a country recognised as environmentally sustainable. Although Japan has achieved this position, the country has a substantial amount of air pollution from power plant emissions which results in acid rain. The acidification of rain damages lakes and reservoirs whilst degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This amounts to an average of five per cent over the five-year period 2008-2012.

In “Kyoto Climate Change Conference”, Al Gore, the Former Vice President of the United States, calls on the heads of state to take action on reducing emissions and protecting the Earth 's environment. Gore mentions environmental problems such as polluted water, dirty air, and destruction of critical habitats that we are experienced have threatened people’s living and future. Gore highlights aerosphere, the most important and most vulnerable part the Earth’s environment, are damaged by gaseous wastes which stops aerosphere dissipating heat and lead to the global warm. Moreover, he emphasizes the global warm causes more serious consequence such as floods, droughts, stronger storms, rising sea level, etc. which will affect the survival of

The climate change impacts of greenhouse gases threaten the economic development and environmental quality. These threats indicate that all nations regardless their economic growth should work collaboratively to reduce the emission to a certain level. Hare et al. (2011) argued that “climate change is a collective action problem” thus requires a global coordination from all countries. This indicates that actions from several countries would never be sufficient to address the climate change problem. If a global target to limit warming to 2°C or below is about to achieve (UNFCCC 2010, p.4) a broad range of participation is required (Hare et al., 2011). However, the increasing complexity of negotiation processes is inevitable. Each country will pursue its own interests during the

“The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the premise that (a)

According to an article focused on environmental awareness, “the world’s average surface temperature rose by approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit, the fastest rate in any period over the last 1000 years” (Source A). Damage has already been done to the environment but it is not the time to throw our hands up, it is the time for leaders in all sectors to tackle this issue head on. We know that carbon dioxide is the culprit, so now it is imperative to implement the solution and take a hard look at who is producing the most greenhouse gases. Big changes need to take place but they can only be done in steps and not all at once to be effective. In an excerpt from a book about global warming, Mark Maslin brings up the point that many feel the Kyoto Protocol does not go far enough; scientists believe that a 60% cut of greenhouse gas emissions is necessary in order to “prevent major climate change” (Source E). A sixty percent cut of emissions should be what countries work up to achieving but first and foremost, every country needs to agree to the Kyoto Protocol guidelines. The Kyoto Protocol itself should not be viewed as the end in the discussion of greenhouse gas restrictions, but rather the first stepping stone to a much broader and effective

Once the Nation’s sign, the commitment to reducing the emissions is the second step towards change. Yet some of the lower ranked emitters pledged to cut back more than the top producers. In fact, some developing nations (process of “transitioning to a market economy) committed to reducing more than the top producers) (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1998) (Damassa, Friedrich, & Ge 2014) (“Status of Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol” 2014). Five of the top producers of greenhouse gas emissions are considered the most influential or powerful Nations. These powerful nations are (ranked from highest to lowest) United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (Clark 2017). All of the Countries listed were ranked according to its economy, politics or political influence, cultural influence (including art), education, natural resources, environmental change, exports of arms, imports of arms, military spending, and military size. Overall, these Nations share in influence on other smaller nations. This is key in determining the lack of effectiveness of the UNFCCC. The convention failed to get the top producer of emissions and the third most powerful nation to sign the Protocol in December of 1998. These Countries not only set the stage for economic relations but also for the environment. Environmental change is

After growing concern over global climate change, the Kyoto Protocol was proposed in 1997 and ratified in 2005. The protocol was created to address the issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, specifically aiming to reduce these emissions globally by giving each country specific goals and percentages of reduction by 2012 relative to 1990 GHG levels1. The need for a global policy stems from the systemic type of environmental problem being dealt with2. Although GHGs are created locally, they affect the world as a whole through their spread in the atmosphere and their contribution to rising average global temperatures. Therefore, their impacts are not local and the entire world needs to come together to limit the rise of

Annex I countries are industrialized nations with large carbon emissions, such as the US, Australia, EU, and Russia. The agreement has four implementation mechanisms designed to achieve the desired reductions in emissions, but only asks that countries comply with the reductions rather than suggesting a methodology. The primary method for countries to reduce emissions is through domestic policies, traditionally taking the form of governmental controls, which each nation would be responsible for creating and enforcing. Domestic policy is “…likely to become a ‘hook’ to ensure that the industrialized countries implement the policies necessary to spur real changes towards less carbon-intensive production and consumption patterns (Depledge 11).” The domestic policy article in the Kyoto Protocol is intended to provide governments, not an international body, with direct control over domestic emissions.