What Is the Kyoto Protocol?
The Kyoto Protocol is the international agreement between industrialized nations to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is named after Kyoto, Japan, where the agreement was drawn up in 1997 at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Now that we know what the protocol was, let's take a closer look at what it was attempting to address.
Greenhouse Gases
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), greenhouse gas emission occurs as a result of human activities. GHG is the emission of any gaseous substance that inhibits the release of heat from the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise at the earth's surface and ultimately, causing the occurrence of extreme weather for extended periods of time.
Many reports point to the burning of fossil fuels as a large source of GHGs. What does this mean? What is humanity's role in creating GHGs? When fossil fuels are burned they produce energy, which is used for such things as electricity or fuel. So, when it is said that GHGs are caused as a result of human activity, it could be caused from something as simple as driving to work. How many times have you driven to work, school, or your local park just in the last week?
Now, imagine millions of other people doing the same thing. Add millions of other activities that require electricity or fuel into the GHG equation and you have a big problem. The Kyoto Protocol is the United Nations' attempt to address this issue. The Kyoto Protocol is mainly concerned with six GHGs:
- Carbon dioxide
- Methane
- Sulfur hexafluoride
- Nitrous oxide
- Penfluorocarbons
- Hydrofluorocarbons
Kyoto Protocol Conditions
There were two conditions that the United Nations insisted on for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. The first condition was that at least 55 industrialized nations needed to sign the agreement. The second condition was that the nations that signed the agreement had to account for at least 55% of the world's emissions. The Kyoto Protocol was scheduled to be in effect 90 days after the conditions were met.
The first condition was satisfied when Iceland signed the agreement on May 23, 2002. The second condition was satisfied when Russia signed the agreement in November of 2004. The Kyoto Protocol went into effect on February 16, 2005. Each nation that signed the agreement had individual targets to lower their emissions by. The Kyoto Protocol set an overall target to lower GHG emissions by 5.2 percent of the 1990 GHG emissions between the periods of 2008 to 2012.
Pros and Cons
There has been a lot of debate regarding the pros and cons of the Kyoto Protocol since it was first developed. It should be noted that the United States did not sign the agreement. The president at the time, President George W. Bush, objected to the agreement for several reasons. The first reason was that developing nations were not included in the agreement and were considered to be exempt. Second, he felt that signing the agreement would negatively impact the United States economy and its growth.
Some people felt that the changes that the Kyoto Protocol asked nations to make acted as a catalyst in sparking business innovation, which in turn, positively aided economies. There was also a debate over whether or not the agreement actually made a difference in lowering GHG emissions since the biggest GHG contributors, the United States and China, were not part of the agreement. China is a developing nation and was not asked to sign the agreement.
Lesson Summary
Let's take a moment or two to review! The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement requiring its signatories to reduce GHG emissions. Greenhouse gas emission is the emission of any gaseous substance that inhibits the release of heat from the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise at the earth's surface and ultimately, causing the occurrence of extreme weather for extended periods of time.
The Kyoto Protocol focuses on six GHGs as their main concern:
- Carbon dioxide
- Methane
- Sulfur hexafluoride
- Nitrous oxide
- Penfluorocarbons
- Hydrofluorocarbons
There were two conditions that needed to be met before the Kyoto Protocol would take effect.
- Fifty-five nations needed to sign the agreement
- The nations that signed needed to account for 55% of GHG emissions worldwide.
Pros and Cons of the Kyoto Protocol are:
- Pro - It sparked business innovation.
- Con - It placed an economic burden on some nations, including two of the greatest contributors of greenhouse gases: The United States and China.