Introduction

In 1997, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was expanded to commit nations to lower their carbon emissions in an attempt to take action on global warming through the formation of the Kyoto Protocol. With the goal of reducing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to levels that would avert catastrophic anthropogenic interference with the climate system, the treaty aimed at lowering emissions with respect to national differences in greenhouse gas contribution, wealth, and capability to meet reduction levels. Because different states have varying economic abilities and carbon emissions, each party in the agreement is expected to implement separate policies to lower their emissions in their respective countries.

Twenty years later, after a great deal of debate and dialogue among world leaders about its merits and limitations, 192 countries remain as parties in the treaty. Since its inception, however, Canada has withdrawn and the United States declined to ratify the protocol. Moreover, only about 1/3 of its original parties have accepted the Kyoto Protocol?s Doha Amendment that establishes the second commitment period to the treaty after 2012. Although the treaty was founded with appropriate intentions, why has it been in many ways ineffective in achieving what it sought out to do and why did the United States fail to ratify it?

Goals of the Agreement

The main objective of the Kyoto Protocol is to control greenhouse gas emissions according to national contribution annually as well as disparities in wealth and ability to make emission reductions. In order to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide, each state is required to reach different levels that they must lower their emissions to depending on the resources available to them. Typically, developed nations disproportionately contribute to climate change with high emissions due to their economic activities and urbanization. Consequently,, the agreement set ambitious targets for developed countries, but did not establish any binding targets for developing states.

US non-ratification

Initially, the United States signed the Kyoto Protocol under the Clinton administration. For the treaty to be legally enforced, however, the protocol needed to be passed by the Senate. Because the Senate does not typically favor agreements that exempt developing nations from emission reductions, the treaty was never presented to it. Shortly after President Clinton signed the protocol in 1998, George W. Bush was elected into office, who did not favor the agreement.

While President Bush later stated that he did believe that climate change is a serious issue, he argued that the agreement would hurt the US economy and thus opposed its ratification. There is speculation though that his decision was impacted by powerful oil corporations and fossil fuel lobbyists that fight against policies that discourage non-renewable energy usage and promote emission reductions as a result. In response to the US resolution, most ratifiers of the protocol publicly expressed their discontent and renewed their commitment to combating global warming. In 2012, Canada withdrew from the protocol too, also citing financial interests as a reason for leaving.

It is likely that the agreement would have been more successful in rendering results if developed nations did not view it as an economic burden. Indeed, the protocol required that countries such as the US and Canada contribute significantly more than other states in emission reductions, but only because these nations emit more greenhouse gases than others do overall. Still, most climate agreements are arduous to enact and enforce because of their connection with the economy and the national interests that oppose them. Nonetheless, it is important that the betterment of all countries be considered when enacting global policies, especially relating to the environment, which was predominantly achieved in the Kyoto Protocol.

References

The Guardian

UNFCCC

Nature Publishing Group

The New York Times

BBC

High-level ministerial roundtable under the Kyoto Protocol (Credit: Creative Commons)