Kyoto Protocol Global Climate Change - 1146 Words

Kyoto’s Consequences 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†¦show more content†¦Meanwhile, developed countries such as Canada and the USA would need to both reduce GHG emissions and provide developing countries with technological and financial resources for sustainable development4. The fear of economic cost related to the reduction of GHG emissions and of falling behind some rapidly developing nations, made many countries reluctant to ratify the protocol. The USA refused to sign the protocol unless developing nations like China also agreed to limit their GHG emissions5. Canada, after having ratified the treaty, later backed out, following in America’s footsteps. The Kyoto protocol does not hold much authority, so in the case of Canada backing out, no real sanctions can be applied7. In order to keep to their promises, countries must face some kind of consequence for refusing to comply with a legally binding contract such as the Kyoto protocol. Another difficulty faced by the treaty is the measuring of GHGs, these come with often high percentages of error due to their sources6. It is therefore difficult to measure emissions accurately and assess whether or not a target has been met. 2. Consequences Legacy The Kyoto protocol produced mixed success overall. Many countries did not meet their targets and even ended up with more emissions than their baseline 1990 levels. Such countries include