The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is the world’s key international agreement on climate change and an important tool that governments use to address climate change.
Although the treaty was originally agreed and made available for countries to sign up to in 1997, it was not made law until 16 February 2005. As of November 2007, 174 countries were fully signed up to the Protocol. Countries that have fully signed up have committed to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and the emissions of five other greenhouse gases.
Australia was the last to have ratified the Protocol following a change in leadership as the result of elections in 2007. This means that the United States is now the only country - of the original signatories - that has not fully ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The United States is currently the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
The main reasons given by the US (and formerly Australia) for opting out of the Kyoto Protocol were because of the exemptions granted to China, India and developing countries. The US and Australia also claimed that ratification would cost jobs and damage their countries’ economies.
Stopping dangerous climate change
The main aim of the Treaty is to hold greenhouse gases at a level that will stop dangerous changes to the planet’s climate system. Using 1990 emission levels as a starting point, it requires an average 5% cut, or ‘cap’, in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 2008-12, although each country has its own target. For European Union countries this target was a total of 8%.
The Kyoto Treaty recognised that we have a common problem but that not all countries have contributed to the problem in the same way. Some countries, including China and India, are exempted from these targets because they were not main contributors during the period of industrialisation that is believed to be the cause of climate change.
The Treaty offers some different ways in which countries can reach their targets other than cutting emissions. For example, they may partially compensate for their emissions by increasing ‘sinks’. These are areas like forests and peat bogs that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by locking it in and storing it as carbon. Alternatively, countries may pay for foreign projects that result in greenhouse gas cuts.
Kyoto also allows the buying and selling of carbon credits within countries and internationally through national and international systems. This is called carbon trading and a large carbon marketplace has arisen as a consequence. Some people have criticised carbon trading as it allows the richer countries to offset carbon emissions instead of cutting them.
The European Union has its own system called the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). EU ETS is the largest emissions trading scheme in the world,. Phase 1 runs from 2005 for three years and the following phases will each last for five years. The second phase of the scheme will cover the five-year Kyoto commitment period 2008-12.
In the UK, the Government fully accepted its targets for reducing emissions by 12.5% and it is a full signatory to the Protocol. In 2007 a draft UK Climate Change Bill was published, which aims to achieve a 60% cut in UK carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. However, many environmental groups think that even this does not go far enough - that 80-100% cuts are required now to halt dangerous climate change, and that emissions from aviation and shipping need to be included in targets.
In 2007 the Scottish Government began talks on a Climate Change Bill for Scotland, with an ambition of cutting emissions by 80% by 2050. A Consultation on the proposals was officially launched in January 2008. In addition to the 80% emissions reduction target, proposals include annual reporting of progress and a pathway of actions that can deliver the emissions target.
Has the Kyoto Protocol stopped dangerous climate change?
The first phase of Kyoto is due to expire in 2012. It has had its successes and difficulties but has been an important step towards recognising and tackling climate change. It put climate change on the worldwide agenda for governments.
However, most scientists agree that not enough has been done to avoid dangerous climate change and that current targets are not strict enough. The decisions about greenhouse gas reductions made by governments, industry, households and individuals over the coming years will be critical.
What next?
In December 2007 representatives of 180 countries gathered in Bali, Indonesia, and agreed on a 'Bali Roadmap'. This started off a process of negotiations on a new set of emissions targets to replace the Kyoto Protocol. The aim is to have a binding agreement in place by the 2009 summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. The US agreed to proposals in the Bali Roadmap but said the process must ensure developing counties take their fair share of emission cuts.
In January 2008 the EU amended its 8% overall target with a new goal of cutting 20% from Europe's carbon emissions by 2020 compared with 1990 levels, and generating one-fifth of the EU's power from renewable sources by that time. The new goals will come into effect in 2009.
Photo credit:Data courtesy Marc Imhoff of NASA GSFC and Christopher Elvidge of NOAA NGDC. Image by Craig Mayhew and Robert Simmon, NASA GSFC.
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