Pros And Cons Of The Kyoto Protocol

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).

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement framed into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was raised the 11th of December of 1997 in the

by 12.5% which was well above the goal of 4.7%. The downside is, when this was created it

The advent of industrialized civilization has brought to us many remarkable feats that enhance our everyday lives. Such things as automobiles, airplanes, tractors, mainframe computers, and even relatively simple machines like lawnmowers have intertwined themselves into the everyday culture of modern day industrialized countries.. These products have provided us enormous benefits compared to the types of lives our ancestors used to live. In the eyes of some, the consequences of industrial activities that have evolved around the world will not pose any problems in the future, however as most have realized, this is not true. Contemporary production processes use fossil fuels such as

The Kyoto Protocol is a binding international agreement, which began in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. As of June 2013, there were a total of 192 parties participating in the Kyoto Protocol, Canada was no longer one of them. Canada was one of the first to sign the agreement, in 1998; more than 4 years later, Canada formally approved the Kyoto Accord, in 2002 ("CBC.ca - Timeline: Canada and Kyoto"). This meant Canada would have to decrease its emissions, by 6% in comparison to 1990 levels (461 Mt), by the year 2012. Despite some efforts, Canada failed to meet these requirements and in fact increased total emissions by roughly 24% by the year 2008. Canada formally withdrew from the Kyoto Accord in 2011, avoiding

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

Bush, as well as our society, feels the president should be strong- especially in international politics and policies. When the United States was attacked September 11, 2001, the people looked to the president to lead, and in essence, seek revenge. On both of these levels of domestic considerations, we will never know to exactly what extent they influence the president's choice of action, but they help us in understanding some of the foreign policy decisions. Going beyond the individual to the expectations of the position, the role consideration plays an influential domestic part in the response to an external event and ultimately foreign policymaking. Furthermore to do this, Bush's administration has outlined some specific objectives. Allies are crucial to conduct foreign operations, so the Bush has joined several international organizations that allow it to serve at the forefront of international policy. Some of the more famous ones are the United Nations, which is the biggest organization and has many sub-level organizations, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank Group (Directory of Economic, Commodity and Developmental Organizations). Knowing that United States is involved in these international organizations President Bush refuses to listen to UN (United Nation) and

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.

Iceland is affected by climate change because as climate change takes place its glaciers will melt and the melting ice will run off into the sea causing the sea level to rise. Some of Iceland is low – lying land which means that it will be the most affected part of Iceland as it will get flooded more easily, so the residents will be in greater risk of danger. The Kyoto protocol is an agreement between countries them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the future. This will be hard because you have to find alternate ways for which people can do things which will lessen the impact that it will have on the atmosphere, it will also be expensive as well which means that only some people will have access to it or it will only be used for

“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)

Global warming has been a controversial topic for years and some have even denied its existence; however, as more studies are being published every day in regards to our changing climate, it is hard to ignore this growing issue and how humans contribute to it. The term greenhouse gases refers to the group of gases that are primarily responsible for global warming and chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. Rising carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to a combination of burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as well as deforestation in general ( Source A). To slow the effects of global warming, it is important for leaders in our society to consider their greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, and make

Countries classified as annex 1, consisting mainly of industrial countries, are required to meet emission reduction commitments in line with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and take cognisance of their historical contribution to climate change. Both the Convention and Protocol are still subject to negotiation. 3. The climate change negotiations held in Copenhagen in December 2009 debated a number of issues under the Kyoto Protocol and the UNFCCC, which culminated in the Copenhagen Accord. The main issues under discussion were the allocation of emissions reductions responsibilities among the

Since the government regulates how much emissions are allowed, emissions will never rise past their cap. Contrary to that, the carbon tax has a chance to incentivize emissions even lower than a set goal, but, there is no guarantee. Lower emissions mean cheaper everything, allowing for greater profit margins. Also, carbon taxes provide a broader scope in terms of emission reductions (Carbon Tax, Baumert). On the other hand, emissions trading systems would be more suited for all six GHG included in the Kyoto Protocol. Such systems have been already applied and have achieved success in low-cost SO2 emissions. Phase I units reduced SO¬¬¬2 by 57%, while phase II reduced the by 14% after 2000

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.