Kyoto Protocol
What are the pros and cons of the Kyoto Protocol? Do you think it should be followed? Why, or why not?
Nowadays scientists are focused on the problem of the environmental protection. Human activity has brought much harm to our planet. One of the most dangerous consequences is global warming caused by not thoughtful usage of natural recourses. The Earth is now greatly polluted by burning fossil fuels from big plants, emissions from gasoline by cars etc. More than that deforestation does not give the planet any chance to restore. Therefore the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is constantly growing.
Kyoto Protocol is a global attempt to restrict and reduce greenhouse gas emissions which was a logical continuation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Protocol was originally negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, entered into its force in February 2005 and is in power till December 2012. The paper consists of 27 Articles and 2 Annexes. The Kyoto mechanisms are: * emissions trading, * clean development mechanism, * joint implementation (Hepburn 2007).
Today most of the countries support this Protocol and it results in reducing of CO2 in the atmosphere so there is a hope that global warming process can be at least slowed if not reversed. The broad participation is surely a great advantage of this treaty. The more countries take part in it the more essential its effect is.
The second advantage is Protocol’s duration, only a long-term agreement can face a long-term problem such as global warming.
The third advantage is that developing countries can get assistance in their development and have some financial benefit from selling their quotas to the countries which are over their limits. But this is a disadvantage at the same time, because it “creates rights to pollute and allows rich countries to buy their way out of domestic reductions” (Wang 2012). So the Kyoto Protocol is not able to solve the
Nowadays scientists are focused on the problem of the environmental protection. Human activity has brought much harm to our planet. One of the most dangerous consequences is global warming caused by not thoughtful usage of natural recourses. The Earth is now greatly polluted by burning fossil fuels from big plants, emissions from gasoline by cars etc. More than that deforestation does not give the planet any chance to restore. Therefore the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is constantly growing.
Kyoto Protocol is a global attempt to restrict and reduce greenhouse gas emissions which was a logical continuation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Protocol was originally negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, entered into its force in February 2005 and is in power till December 2012. The paper consists of 27 Articles and 2 Annexes. The Kyoto mechanisms are: * emissions trading, * clean development mechanism, * joint implementation (Hepburn 2007).
Today most of the countries support this Protocol and it results in reducing of CO2 in the atmosphere so there is a hope that global warming process can be at least slowed if not reversed. The broad participation is surely a great advantage of this treaty. The more countries take part in it the more essential its effect is.
The second advantage is Protocol’s duration, only a long-term agreement can face a long-term problem such as global warming.
The third advantage is that developing countries can get assistance in their development and have some financial benefit from selling their quotas to the countries which are over their limits. But this is a disadvantage at the same time, because it “creates rights to pollute and allows rich countries to buy their way out of domestic reductions” (Wang 2012). So the Kyoto Protocol is not able to solve the
References: Carter, J. (2002). “The Kyoto Protocol: Implications for Emissions Trading TED Case Studies”. Web. Retrieved from: http://www1.american.edu/TED/kyoto-emissions.htm Hepburn, C. (2007). “Carbon Trading: A Review of the Kyoto Mechanisms”. Abstract web. Retrieved from: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.energy.32.053006.141203?journalCode=energy Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Web. Retrieved from: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.html Nitz, B.(2012). “Will the Kyoto Protocol Survive Qatar 2012?” 2012. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.greenprophet.com/2012/11/will-the-kyoto-protocol-survive- qatar-2012/