As sunlight shines on the earth, solar radiation is absorbed and then radiated back into space as thermal radiation (heat). However, some of this heat is trapped by gases in the atmosphere. The trapped heat increases the temperature of the earth’s surface and atmosphere. The process is similar to the way a greenhouse is kept warm. The earth’s natural levels of water vapor and other gases produce this greenhouse effect, making life on earth possible. However, some scientists are now predicting that higher levels of certain greenhouse gases are causing temperatures to rise beyond natural limits.
Since the beginning of the industrial age, carbon dioxide has been building up in the earth’s atmosphere as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is considered the major cause of global warming on earth. Other natural greenhouse gases include water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Additionally, several man-made gases are also thought to contribute to the greenhouse effect, namely chlorofluorocarbons, hydro-chlorofluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. Researchers have estimated that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by at least 30 percent since the 1800s. Industrial processes have also led to a 145 percent increase in methane and 15 percent increase in nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.
The buildup of these gases is believed to be the major cause of higher than normal average global temperatures in recent years. Consequences of such global warming could include higher sea levels, the spread of deserts in areas around the earth’s equator and the drying up of fresh water sources.
In December 1997, at a United Nations summit on global warming in Kyoto, Japan, representatives from over 150 nations adopted a treaty to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. The so-called Kyoto Protocol called for reducing emissions to at least 5 percent below 1990 levels of these gases by 2012. The Protocol was signed by 38 industrialized countries attending the summit. Developing nations attending the summit were not required to adhere to the guidelines of the Protocol. The 15 EU nations at the summit agreed to further reduce emissions to 8 percent, the US to 7 percent, and Japan to 6 percent below the 1990 levels.
The US officially signed the Protocol on November 12, 1998, but the US president then did not sent it to the Senate to officially approve the treaty because he knew there was little hope for its approval at that time. When the next president took office in 2000, the new administration openly opposed the Protocol. The Bush administration claimed the standards set in the Protocol were unfair to developed countries. Australia also rejected the Kyoto Protocol on the basis that the UN predictions of industrial growth, and thus future greenhouse emissions, were improbable.
Even with the predictions of the Protocol called into question, many countries continued to push for its approval. In July 2001, delegates met again in Bonn, Germany to discuss the Protocol. At the Bonn meeting, the delegates agreed, despite opposition from US representatives, on setting guidelines and timetables for achieving the reductions set in the Kyoto Protocol. The following year, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, Russia indicated it would soon officially approve the Kyoto Protocol. However, in late 2003, Russia said it needed to further study the Protocol’s requirements and predictions before signing. Without Russia’s approval, there seems little chance the Kyoto Protocol will ever be completely ratified.
According to the Kyoto Protocol, various nations agreed to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases below emission levels in 1990. Developing nations such as China and India are exempt from meeting the standards set by the Protocol. In order for the treaty to go into effect, 55 countries representing 55 percent of the emissions by industrialized countries must ratify it. More than 100 countries have already ratified the Protocol, but all of these countries only represent 43 percent of the emission levels from 1990.
The way the plan works is that industries first set a limit, or cap, on emission levels for the industry. Industries such as oil and gas producers, generating plants, and industrial plants would all take part in establishing the limits. Once the treaty is in effect, companies that produce emissions below the cap level can “sell” their unused level to other companies. New industries that would produce emissions must then buy or trade with existing industries to keep the national emissions within limits.
Actions taken by developed and developing countries to reduce emissions include support for renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and reducing deforestation. Under the Protocol, emissions of developing countries are allowed to grow in accordance with their development needs.
The Kyoto Protocol entered into force on February 16, 2005, which was 90 days from Russia’s ratification on Number 18, 2004. With the entry-into-force, participating countries were legally bound to meet quantities targets for reducing or limiting greenhouse gases. Moreover, the international carbon trading market became a legal and practical reality. Finally, it aimed that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) should move from an early implementations phase to full operations. The CDM encouraged investments in developing-country projects that limit emissions while promoting sustainable development.
Japan and Russia rejected new targets under the Kyoto Protocol climate treaty, whose goals expired in 2012.
The number of developed country Parties with a commitment for the second period is one more than under the first commitment period. Four Parties that did not have a commitment in the first period – EU Member States Cyprus and Malta, as well as Belarus and Kazakhstan - took one for the second period. However, Japan, New Zealand and the Russian Federation, which did have commitments for the first period, did not take on commitments for the second period. This means that the second commitment period covers a much smaller share of global emissions – around 14-15% - than the first.