| Kyoto Goal: Cut Emissions by 5 Percent |
Target Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions by 2012, Kyoto Protocol
|
| Country |
Kyoto Target
(percent change from 1990 emissions) |
| Australia |
+8 |
| Bulgaria |
-8 |
| Canada |
-6 |
| Croatia |
-5 |
| Estonia |
-8 |
| European Union |
-8 |
| Hungary |
-6 |
| Iceland |
+10 |
| Japan |
-6 |
| Latvia |
-8 |
| Liechtenstein |
-8 |
| Lithuania |
-8 |
| Monaco |
-8 |
| New Zealand |
0 |
| Norway |
+1 |
| Poland |
-6 |
| Romania |
-8 |
| Russian Federation |
0 |
| Slovakia |
-8 |
| Slovenia |
-8 |
| Switzerland |
-8 |
| Ukraine |
0 |
| United States |
-7 |
Source: United Nations (U.N.), Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Article 3, Annex B (U.N., New York, 1997). Available online at: http://www.unfccc.de (January 18, 1998).
|
|
Emissions Reflect Economic Size
|
| Fifteen Countries with the Highest
Industrial Emissions of Carbon Dioxide |
| COUNTRY |
TOTAL CO2 EMISSIONS
(000 metric tons) |
| South Africa |
305,805 |
| Poland, Rep |
338,044 |
| France |
340,085 |
| Mexico |
357,834 |
| Korea, Rep |
373,592 |
| Italy |
409,983 |
| Canada |
435,749 |
| Ukraine |
438,211 |
| United Kingdom |
542,140 |
| Germany |
835,099 |
| India |
908,734 |
| Japan |
1,126,753 |
| Russian Federation |
1,818,011 |
| China |
3,192,484 |
| United States |
5,468,564 |
Source: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
(CDIAC), Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
“1995 Estimates of CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuel Burning and Cement Manufacturing Based on the United Nations Energy Statistics andthe U.S. Bureau of Mines Cement Manufacturing Data,” ORNL/CDIAD-25, NDP-030
(an accessible numerical database) (Oak Ridge, Tennessee, November 1997).
|
|
|
Another problematic area is that the treaty is ambiguous regarding the
extent to which developing nations will participate in the effort to limit
global emissions. The original 1992 climate treaty made it clear that,
while the developed nations most responsible for the current buildup of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere should take the lead in combating climate
change, developing nations also have a role to play in protecting the global
climate [5]. (See Per Capita CO2 Emissions Are Small in Developing Countries and Developed Nations Have Altered the Atmosphere the Most.) However, the Kyoto Protocol does not set any binding limits on developing nation emissions, nor does it establish a mechanism or timetable for these countries to take on such limits voluntarily. On the other hand, the Protocol does establish a so-called Clean Development Mechanism, which allows developed countries to invest
in projects in developing countries that reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and receive credit for the reductions. The intent is to help developing
nations minimize their emissions even as they develop their energy sectors
and expand their economies [6].
References and notes
5. Ibid., p. 121.
6. Op. cit. 4, pp. 124-125. |
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