The UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), provides scientific knowledge to UNFCCC members. The IPCC met in Kyoto in 1997 to discuss an instrumental plan that would provide ways for states to decrease their environmental damage. Soon to be called the Kyoto Protocol, this treaty proposes market-based regulations to control our environmental impacts. The first of which, requires parties to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creates a carbon market for tracking and trading of CO2; implementing an “emission-reduction project”, which allocates credits equal to a ton of CO2; and “joint implementation” allowing co-projects to occur between parties. These market based emission standards make environmental damage reduction readily available to many states across the world.
Although these plans for reduction seem quite achievable through the market-based incentives, the Protocol simply had too many critics. The veto of the Protocol by President G.W. Bush racks me from time to time whether that decision has changed the course to that of our current economic problems, mainly with the continued pursuit of carbon-intensive commodities. I believe ratification of this treaty could have put the US in the place of the EU’s more sustainable society. This treaty has allowed states like Denmark, Germany, and the UK to decrease emissions up to 19% by 2004. Due to our somewhat similar economies it could be thought that the US could have mimicked a country like Germany that committed to aggressively pursuing alternative energy sources.
The Kyoto Protocol topic is relevant to current environmental policy issues, since the Kyoto Protocol will expire in 2012. The Copenhagen Conference is coming up in December of 2009 and will extend the standards of Kyoto into the future. When the United States attends the conference, I hope that Obama administration will pursue with an open-mind at the new standards available for ratification. The recent IPCC Working Group I findings in the Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007, discusses the facilitators of climate change. Human activities have been designated as the driving force behind the increase in concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These boosts in environmental contaminates are thought to be the culprit in global climate change. The effects of climate change can be felt today with the increase of droughts and flooding, melting ice sheets, increased intensity of weather events, and a constantly rising sea level. Due to these findings it is very imperative that the US takes an advocacy position to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas admissions.
I think anyone in our class...or country could agree completely with the thought that we need to jump on the bandwagon quick! It's almost embarassing as an International Studies/Environmental affairs student to talk to people overseas about this topic. America needs to move past luxurious ways and move towards reducing our emissions like so many other nations already have. Let's all hope that Copenhagen goes reeeaally well...
ReplyDeleteEven though everyone failed and adhering to the Kyoto Protocol we currently have an historic opportunity to help us correct our ways, if you will. The current Obama Administration’s main campaign was to create a green job based economy; increase the quality of education, and to divert us to renewable energies. If the administration complies with these promises we could see new doors being opened for an environmentally conscious mindset. We could slowly divert mountain top removal and oil based fuels to a green-based job market that creates windmills, etc. Also with a proper education and retraining programs the nations of the world have slowly pulled out of poverty and increased there knowledge base to create new and better technologies. The prospects of the Copenhagen Climate Conference also present another option and a 2nd chance if you will.
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