The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol designed to reduce greenhouse gases in order to prevent climate change. 182 countries have ratified the agreement. The United States of America is the only developed country not to have ratified the protocol, despite being the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.
Under the protocol, developed (Annex I) countries have the objective of reducing their carbon dioxide emissions by 5% below their 1990 rates. Developing (Annex II) countries have no obligation to lower their carbon dioxide emissions, but only to monitor and report their emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol entered into force on 16 February, 2005.
USA
When Kyoto was first agreed upon, the US signed and aimed to reduce its emissions by 6%. However, it has withdrawn from the agreement, and its carbon dioxide emissions have increased to more than 15% above 1990 levels, and now it emits 22.2% of the world’s CO2 emissions.
President Bush explained that he would not ratify the Kyoto Protocol because it would damage the US economy, and because it did not yet demand emission-cuts from developing countries. He would rather improve energy-efficiency through voluntary emission-reductions and through the development of cleaner energy sources rather than by imposed targets.
Russia
Russia is the third biggest emitter of CO2, emitting 5.6% of the world’s total.
For the Kyoto Protocol to become a legally binding treaty, it had to be ratified by countries which together were responsible for 55% or more of the total carbon dioxide emissions in 1990. Therefore, Russia’s ratifying of the protocol in November 2004 was vital.
Fulfilling the Kyoto Protocol is no problem for Russia, as its economy has declined so drastically since 1990 that industrial activity shrunk, meaning emissions were reduced by as much as 35%, which far exceeds the demands of the Kyoto Protocol. Russia can make billions of dollars through selling the surplus emissions entitlement to other countries that are emitting more than the protocol allows them to. The money will be used for energy efficiency projects. However, keeping emissions low could mean less economic profit in the long run.
Australia
Australia is the nineteenth largest emitter of CO2, emitting 1.2% of the world total, however it lies just after the United States in per capita CO2 emissions. It ratified the Kyoto Protocol in December 2007.
Former Australian PM John Howard had not been willing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on the grounds that if heavily polluting countries such as China and India were not subject to binding targets, neither should Australia be, as Australia emits far less CO2 than China and India.
India
India is the fourth largest emitter of carbon dioxide, emitting 4.9% of the world total. It realized that climate change will have an impact on many of its citizens, and so ratified the Kyoto Protocol in August 2002.
As a developing country, India does not need to reduce CO2 emissions by the Kyoto Protocol. However, their living standards are rapidly rising, and as a result, their emissions will increase. In fact, the development has been so rapid that the Indian CO2 emissions are estimated to have increased by more than 50% in the 1990s.
However, with India’s steadily growing demand for energy, soon it must tackle the problem of reducing greenhouse gases.
China
China is the second biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, emitting 18.4% of the world’s total, however the average Chinese citizen consumes only 10-15% of the energy the average US citizen consumes. Recognizing that climate change could have a very large impact on their country, China ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002.
As with India, China’s status as a developing country relieves it of the obligation to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, however the Chinese government announced plans to generate 10% of its total energy from renewable sources by 2010.
China is the world's biggest coal producer, and its oil consumption has doubled in the last 20 years. The country faced power cuts in 2004 as soaring growth outstripped electricity generation.
It is unclear whether Beijing would agree to ratify an agreement involving imposed targets.
