The Problem Of The Kyoto Protocol

Case Background: - In transportation industry, one of the biggest challenge is how to deal with carbon dioxide emissions and how to reduce the energy. According to the Natural Resources Canada, one third of the greenhouse emission is because of transportation industry.

As the gas price is rising up to 140 cents per litre in Canada, many people switch their vehicle to gasoline-electric hybrid car to gain savings from the better fuel efficiency. Many potential consumers for hybrid vehicle and hybrid vehicle owners think that the hybrid system is worth the extra penny due to better fuel economy. However, the realistic is that it has higher maintenance despite of its outstanding fuel economy figures. In fact, the hybrids cause more environmental damage than conventional petro powered vehicles and there are better alternatives. Therefore, hybrids should not be on consumers’ shopping list due to a numerous negative facts that consumers are unaware of.

The U.S. electric passenger car industry in 2011 was described as being in its infancy, because it is still a new concept to buyers. However there are signs of growth from 2011-2015. Buyers do not consider the car because of price, travel range and vehicle size, along with other secondary concerns.

“We can break our dependence on oil…and become the first country to have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015,” President Obama said in his January 2011 State of the Union address (Institute for Energy Research 1). While this may sound promising, the practicality and merit in achieving this goal remains unclear. Auto manufacturers have been working on plans for electric cars for years, especially the three largest companies in the US: Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford. These companies have been hoping that the development of electric cars would create a sort of lifestyle change for consumers, both weaning the U.S. off of its dependence on foreign oil and breathing life into the market for auto sales at the same time. Electric cars are often sold as zero emissions, but technically that is only true once they are charged and in terms of their tailpipe emissions. After all, they have to get their energy from somewhere and, more often than not, the electricity used for charging is supplied by traditional coal fired power plants. The real question then is whether the source and amount of energy required to build and supply an electric car with power is actually cleaner and more economical than a traditional combustion automobile. As it turns out, the answer is both unexpected and fairly complicated. In order to assess whether the use of

Currently, the market for electric vehicles are in its early stages. However, with the growing environmental awareness more people are becoming more accepting and fond of the idea of electric cars. Presently, less than 2% of households have an electric powered vehicle but it is projected that by the year 2045, electric vehicles will account for 35% of the automotive market share.

Electric cars impose a serious risk on the oil and gas industry. The extent by which this market succeeds reciprocally defines the extent by which the oil and gas industry deteriorates. As with all forms of technology, there comes a point in time where one form of technology no longer appears to be useful in comparison with an applicable alternative. The current inhibitors of electric car adoption are the price of batteries and vehicle performance. With that being said, battery prices dropped over 30% just last year and are expected to continue dropping. Projections estimate that 35% of cars will have a plug by 20401. However, even in the next few years, companies such as Tesla, Chevrolet, and Nissan plan to offer electric cars on the market at an affordable price. The question then becomes: when the oil and gas market will be displaced by the electric market? If both markets produce a vehicle of similar price and quality, then it is reasonable to assume that a customer will choose the option that is more eco-friendly. The moral issue still remains: should the vehicles of tomorrow be fueled by gasoline or are viable options readily available and acceptable?

For the last two decades, the increased use of fossil energy caused the environmental problems. The evidence of global warming, like drying rivers, extinction of species, melting of glaciers, became more often around the planet. The climate change became a threat to healthy environment and prosperity of humanity and wildlife, and the world community started searching for solution to combat climate change. In 2008 British Columbia introduced carbon tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to reduce global warming. Starting from $10 per tonne of CO2, the price was increasing annually till it reached $30 per tonne in 2012. During that period British Columbia was reducing harmful emissions and improving economy comparing to the rest of Canada. However, since the price rise on carbon stopped in 2012, no improving changes in cutting emissions, economy, and overall quality of life have been noticed. In this essay I will persuade that British Columbia should continue gradually increase price on carbon tax to the level where it will significantly cut the use of dirty energy, provide enough investments into the green projects, and support low-income families.

Ontario has its own creative and effective strategies to combat climate change. One of Ontario’s goal is a low-carbon future. To accomplish this the province started making carbon reductions in 1990 and are on track to reduce carbon emissions by 15% in 2020, 37 per cent in 2030 and 80 per cent in 2050 (Climate Change Action Plan, 2017). Ontario’s target of reducing emissions by 6% was met on schedule in 2014 (Climate Change Action Plan, 2017). One of the reasons this has been made possible is because of Ontario’s investment in carbon reduction. For example, in 2015 Ontario committed $325-million payment to Ontario’s Green Investment Fund to support programs that help households and businesses implement

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 does not benefit Canada because it is unfair and too costly. The countries involved are not treated fairly, especially Canada. Some of the world’s largest polluters, such as China and India, are exempt from the first half of the Protocol and large polluters such as the US didn't choose to ratify the agreement. Secondly, Kyoto allows some industrialized countries, such as Russia and New Zealand, to make no cuts, and even permits some places, like Iceland, to emit more greenhouse gasses (Torrie and Parfett et al.). Finally, Canada will need to provide developing countries with funding to help them reach their reduction goals ("Canada's Kyoto Protocol Targets and Obligations"). Canada has more to lose with the Protocol than other countries and many other countries are not giving any funding at all. Every country that is signed on to the Kyoto agreement should be treated equally, and there should be no exceptions. For these reasons, the Kyoto Protocol will have little effect on the earth’s

On December 15, 2011, the Government of Canada authoritatively told the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that Canada would practice its legitimate right to formally pull back from the Kyoto Protocol. The Environment Minister, Peter Kent, was the one who announced this. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement connected to the UNFCCC that sets internationally binding greenhouse gas reduction targets for each country that is in the agreement. There are a lot of benefits as to why Canada should stay in the agreement, but at the same time there are a few complications and setbacks that we will have to face as well. Canada will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases, save money and create jobs, and reduce drastic

Across the world and for years governments have promoted the usage, production, and purchasing of electric vehicles. The first big push for electric vehicles was in 1998 in the state of California with the mandate that stated, “ a small percentage of vehicles sold after 2000 [ must have] zero emissions”( Baumgartner et Gross 35). This pushed many small and large vehicle companies to begin to look towards producing hybrid and electric vehicles. Another big push for electric vehicles in the United States was in 2005 when soon to be President Barack Obama advocated that” the United States [would] have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015” (Barkenbus 56). Despite this goal never being met, without a doubt it promoted and furthered electric vehicles. Outside of North America in Europe, electric vehicle incentive is also prominent. Writing in October of 2000, Jack Barkenbus states “France is likely to be at the forefront of advocating electrical vehicle usage because of [their] nuclear power” (Baumgartner et Gross 35). This prediction was correct France now offers recharging services for electric vehicle owners. Another European country offering an incentive for purchasing electric vehicles is Switzerland. “Switzerland rewards individuals who take part in [electric vehicle promotion] by offering direct subsidies when buying a car”(Baumgartner et Gross 36). All of this incentive and promotion has been worthwhile, writing in 2017 Jack Barkenbus states that, “thirty percent of all new cars sold in the last quarter of

Transportation is the number one thing we consumers do that harms the environment. Transportation causes the highest amount of environmental damage overall - nearly half of the toxic air pollution and more than a quarter of the greenhouse gases traceable to household consumption. Over time, however, sales of trucks, vans and SUV's went from 16% market share to over 50%. One big auto manufacturer even shelved their work of the last three years, spent updating their most popular selling economy car, so they could spend the money getting SUVs to market faster.

In the market today, there are some factors that can pose a problem to all the market players’ including the Model S.  The idea of fully electric vehicles is still a new idea in the eyes of consumers.  The major concern for the market would be the location and proximity of charging stations for the vehicles.  Major cities are starting to increase the amounts that are located within them, but are still not as readily

Pollution, specifically global warming, is of growing concern to people and governments. It is a controversial issue whose validity is still being debated by scientists. The Kyoto Protocol is an international attempt to address global warming through emissions controls. Traditional neoclassical economic models do not incorporate pollution in rudimentary theories of supply, demand, or pricing, as a result, firms do not consider pollution as a cost of production, which leaves government regulation as the primary method for controlling these externalities. The goal of emissions trading is to allow one business, which can make greenhouse gas emission reductions for a relatively low cost, to sell