...Table of Contents Introduction to Copenhagen Conference and Kyoto Protocol 2 ASEAN and Copenhagen Conference 3 Climate Change as an Issue 4 Sustainable Development 5 Impact of Kyoto Protocol on ASEAN 7 Challenges faced by ASEAN under Kyoto Protocol 9 Conclusion 11 Referencing 12 Introduction to Copenhagen Conference and Kyoto Protocol In 1992, countries coupled together for an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, by 1995, countries realized that provisions of emission reductions in the Convention were insufficient. Due to this reason, they launched negotiations to reinforce the global response to climate change. These negotiations lead to the adoption of an agreement known as Kyoto Protocol (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2013). The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference held in Denmark raised climate change policy to the highest political level. 115 world leaders attended this high-level segment, building it one of the major gatherings of world leaders ever outside UN headquarters in New York. More than 40,000 people that represent governments, nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, media, faith-based organizations UN agencies applied for accreditation (UNFCCC, 2013) The Copenhagen Accord enclosed numerous key elements on which there was strong union of the views of governments. This incorporated the long-term goal of limiting the maximum global average temperature...
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...HIST1050-07 Kyoto Protocol Research Kyoto Agreement Environmental Issues Burdens on the atmosphere and on Earth's natural environment in general have been increasing at a steady rate over the years. Since the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, humans have been slowly but steadily polluting the environment through the means of emission of greenhouse gases. After realizing this issue at hand, the United Nations set out to find where the majority of these emissions came from and ways to limit the damage to the environment. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets international binding emission reduction targets. It was adopted in Kyoto, Japan (hence its name) on December 11, 1997 and began to be enforced on February 16, 2005. Some actions that are required by the binding of the Protocol are improving energy efficiency, reducing deforestation, and supporting renewable energy. It has been recognized that developed countries, such as the United States, and various European countries, are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in the atmosphere. The Protocol places a heavier burden on these developed nations under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities". All of the United Nation members are parties to the Protocol except Andorra, Canada, South Sudan and the United States. The United States signed the Protocol but never...
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...Kyoto Protocol and Global Warming Evaluation xxxxxx ECO-370 April 21, 2014 Xiaobing Shuai Kyoto Protocol and Global Warming Evaluation Surface temperature of the earth has been an indicator of threatening critical concern. The principle of a greenhouse is that the enclosing glass or plastic allows the passage of incoming sunlight, but traps a portion of the reflected infrared radiation, which warms the interior of the greenhouse above the outside temperature (Field & Field, 2009, p. 430). This reaction encloses greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere that cause an increase in temperature in earth’s surface, in which is known as global warming. Based on this chemical reaction, it creates a global climate change on planet earth that changes meteorological patterns in each region. Costs and benefits from industrialized countries Due to a higher economic standing in industrialized countries, such as the United States and Europe we have larger amounts of pollution discharges that contribute to global climate change. Major issues related to costs with the intent to reduce global climate change include: what methods to adopt in various countries to meet the performance required by the agreements and how to share the overall costs among the participating countries (Field & Field, 2009, p. 456). These are cost-effective measures that countries can substantially decrease of the overall program. In accordance with Field & Field (2009), “The benefits accruing to any particular...
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...Pros and cons of the Kyoto Protocol. Why or why not it should be followed. Global warming, in line with other significant factors that influence the existence of human beings, has now became a major topic in modern press, politics, scientific researches and even simple chats of why the last summer was that hot. And this is not odd. The latest research on climate change has a shown a trend of incremental growth of Earth’s average surface temperature during last 100 years, with a particular increase since 1980. While the research considers several facts to cause a problem, the most obvious one is a concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere produced as a result of increased usage of natural resources. To stabilize the level of gases, in 1997 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has issued a document known as Kyoto Protocol, aimed at fighting global warming by setting a certain emission limit per country and followed by an overall objective to reduce the number of greenhouse gases produced by them. By now, the document has gone through multiple stages of adoption and ratifications and is about to expire by the end of 2012. While the overall purpose of the protocol is clear and acceptable, the way it declares certain mechanisms and triggers polarized reactions across the world causes to analyze if it worth to be followed. First of all, the Protocol does not actually cover the key emitters of greenhouse gases, which are either not committed for reductions...
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...Kyoto Protocol and Global Warming Evaluation Jennifer Marshall ECO/370 September 2, 2013 Ronda Jantz The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty that was proposed to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions with legally binding signatures and expectation of ratification by industrialized countries especially. However, being an international treaty, compliance or ratification is not required but suggested in order to mitigate the global climate change that is occurring. Climate being the characteristic condition of the earth’s atmosphere over a specific area of the planet for a long period of time can be in fact altered by activities of man-kind that consist of burning fossil fuels and deforestation. Since the industrial revolution, fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas emissions such as methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone depleting substances have increased in the atmosphere to the point of altering the composition and increasing the global temperature by “about 1.1 degree F over just the last 30 years” (New England Aquarium, 2013). This is the concept of global climate change. The increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases need to be mitigated. “In 2007, the IPCC published a series of scenarios ranging from “business as usual/no actions taken” to “aggressive actions taken” to reduce climate change. Models based on these scenarios from the IPCC 2007 report predict that average global surface temperatures will likely...
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...KYOTO PROTOCOL TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE UNITED NATIONS 1998 KYOTO PROTOCOL TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE The Parties to this Protocol, Being Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”, In pursuit of the ultimate objective of the Convention as stated in its Article 2, Recalling the provisions of the Convention, Being guided by Article 3 of the Convention, Pursuant to the Berlin Mandate adopted by decision 1/CP.1 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention at its first session, Have agreed as follows: Article 1 For the purposes of this Protocol, the definitions contained in Article 1 of the Convention shall apply. In addition: 1. “Conference of the Parties” means the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. 2. “Convention” means the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, adopted in New York on 9 May 1992. 3. “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change” means the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change established in 1988 jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme. 4. “Montreal Protocol” means the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, adopted in Montreal on 16 September 1987 and as subsequently adjusted and amended. 5. vote. 6. “Parties present and voting” means Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative “Party” means, unless...
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...considering the fact that it is not about the industrial strategies or further space exploration but about safety and confidence in future of the human beings. Kyoto protocol, presenting definite steps in fighting the threat for the people, at the same time became an international phenomenon which showed how all spheres of human life are connected with each other in the era of global information. First of all, its main benefit justified itself in the next few days after its adoption. The authorities at last tackle the problems of globalization or at least admit the existence of such. This cooperation became of public awareness and it is quite vivid now to everyone that problems of global climate change are not someone's smart myth but a real fact that has drawn attention of the mighty of this world. Another advantage of the Kyoto protocol is that it really works. According to the official statistics nearly half of the countries that are fully or partially obligated to it have really reduced emissions of carbon dioxide by some percent. Cutting the amount of pollution in the atmosphere will certainly have a positive effect even if human activity has nothing to do with climate change. It will certainly reduce the number of diseases caught due to bad ecology. Alongside with definite advantages of the adoption of the protocol it has significant disadvantages. To start with, it created an opportunity for the countries that produce less than it is established as the limit to sell its...
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...A study by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Sustainable Building and Construction Initiative (SBCI) have shown that the building and construction industry worldwide is responsible for a third of total energy use and in most parts of the world, the greatest contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) (UNEP-SBCI, 2009). One would therefore think that the efforts resulting from the Kyoto protocol which sets binding targets to reduce GHG emissions would focus on the Building and Construction industry, and this is an opinion which may be true. The effect of the protocol have seen a paradigm shift in the industry towards a ‘Sustainable Development’ movement, being more conscious to the effects the industry has on the environment. The building and construction industry in Singapore has also recognised the need to protect the environment and there have been various efforts to encourage construction activities which may reduce GHG emissions such as the use of alternative energy, recycling construction materials, alternative materials and various government-led initiatives. Singapore however is a small city-state which the UNFCC recognises as an alternative energy-disadvantaged state, facing difficulties in using alternative energy given its small size and compact area (NEA, 2014). Nevertheless, Singapore continues to moderate its GHG emissions by exploring the use of alternative energy sources, particularly natural gas and solar energy. The switch to natural gas has effectively...
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...International Law: Kyoto Protocol The United States, although a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, has neither ratified nor withdrawn from the protocol. In 1997, the US Senate voted unanimously under the Byrd–Hagel Resolution that it was not the sense of the Senate that the United States should be a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. In 2001, former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, stated that the Protocol "is not acceptable to the Administration or Congress". The United States, along with Kazakhstan, have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol is non-binding over the United States unless ratified. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and (As of June 2011) Barack Obama did not submit the treaty for ratification. In October 2003, the Pentagon published a report titled An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security by Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall. The authors conclude by stating, "this report suggests that, because of the potentially dire consequences, the risk of abrupt climate change, although uncertain and quite possibly small, should be elevated beyond a scientific debate to a U.S. national security concern." Description | English: Kyoto Protocol participation map (commitment period: 2013-2020) Parties; Annex I & II countries with binding targets Parties; Developing countries without binding targets States not Party to the Protocol Signatory country with no intention to ratify the treaty...
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...violated the Global warming Pact called the “Kyoto Protocol”. “The view that human activities are likely responsible for most of the observed increase in global mean temperature ("global warming") since the mid-20th century is an accurate reflection of current scientific thinking. Human-induced warming of the climate is expected to continue throughout the 21st century and beyond.” The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that places necessary responsibility on industrialized countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The UNFCCC is an environmental treaty with the goal of preventing "dangerous" anthropogenic (i.e., human-induced) interference of the climate system. According to the UNFCC website, the Protocol "recognises that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, and places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities'." There are 192 parties to the convention, including 191 states (all the UN members, except Andorra, Canada, South Sudan and the United States) and the European Union. The Protocol was adopted by Parties to the UNFCCC in 1997, and entered into force in 2005. Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister announced that Canada will withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol. It was said that the decision will...
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...TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS AND THE PROBLEM OF ANARCHY IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY By: Ma. Hazel Joy M. Faco BA Political Science – 2 "Freedom in a common brings ruin to all." As proposed by Garrett Hardin, the “Tragedy of the Commons” is an inevitable result of the exploitation of a shared resource by rational and egoistic individuals who solely seek to maximize their own consumption. It is predicted that there will come a time when the supply of that resource will no longer be able to keep up with the rapidly growing demand. This is where the tragedy comes into the picture. This apathetic and nonchalant consumption will eventually lead to the irreversible depletion and degradation of that particular common resource. To avoid this ultimate tragedy, there is no technical solution that we can possibly adopt. No amount of science or technology can reverse this damage. The only way that we can possibly preclude this destruction is by undergoing a dramatic re-examination and transformation of our conscience and fundamental conceptions of ethics and morality. But the real question is this: Is that even possible? Hardin’s pessimistic parable is widely and almost universally accepted as an all-encompassing, catchall framework in explaining the ecological crisis that currently confronts commonly-held goods such as the earth’s atmosphere, fisheries, grasslands, water, forests, roads and even population growth. However, in this essay, I am going to analyze this tragedy by...
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...societies. Resultantly, there have been countless efforts of working towards pragmatic solutions to environmental concerns by means of global governance as an international collective. “The distinct characteristics of global governance lies in the assumption that the effective handling of problems is no longer the exclusive responsibility of government but of joint activities by governments, international and supranational institutions.” This understanding of global interconnectedness has incited the creation of numerous organizations, institutions and international environmental initiatives, specifically the Kyoto Protocol. However, environmental impediments have not seen notable improvements and can be attributed to the flaws of global environmental governance. Firstly, contributing to the failure of environmental policies is the ineffective structure of the Kyoto Protocol. Furthermore, with the rise of globalization, neoliberal ideals have prioritized market successes at the detriment of the environment and international environmental initiatives. Lastly, the international environmental governing body of the United Nations Environment Programme (herein referred to as UNEP) lacks legitimacy, organization and corroborated influence. This paper asserts the fundamental flaws and failures of environmental global governance in efforts of controlling and improving environmental degradation. Although there have been many initiatives taken to...
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...greenhouse gases in the ozone layer, thus trapping the sun’s heat in the earth’s atmosphere. These greenhouse gases result from human activities like fossil fuel burning, and deforestation. By this, we cans see results like the melting of glaciers, permafrost, extreme weather events, species extinctions, changes in nature, and etc. Upon seeing this, it turned out to be a wake-up call for me. It made me cautious about this topic, making me anxious for instant help to our Earth. I hope people will also feel what I feel for this problem. For this is the problem that is the hardest for us because it signifies all existing living things are in danger. It’s good to know what is stated on the movie, that many governments and countries supported the Kyoto Protocol’s aim at...
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...China and the Kyoto Protocols China did indeed sign the Kyoto Protocols on May 29th in 1998. It then ratified the protocol in its government on August 30th in 2002. On February 16th of 2005, China entered into the force. In 2005, China was the world’s number one emitter of Greenhouse Gases, clocking in at seventeen percent of all the world’s emissions, although, per capita, out of the top ten positions, they are second to last. (China) During their five years as a member, China has only reported in once, although China is a Non Annex party due to its still growing economy and classification as a low income state. During these five years, China’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions have increased from 5.8 tons to 6.2 tons. (Kanter) I find China’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocols to be motivated on political and cultural premises. Ever since the end of Maoism, China has always been trying to appear as an eager participant in all of the world’s affairs by proving its worth to the world through political and economic prowess. The intense modernization, the friendliness towards companies willing to do work there, and fervent attempts to host the Olympics, World Expo, and other events have all been ways that China have used to attempt to dazzle the world. The Kyoto Protocols, something that China had no way of properly enforcing in light of their massive expansion, is just another way that China is showing the world that it is a great country. The reason that China could not...
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...An inconvenient truth (Report 2):- Nirmal Kumar Chaturvedi 0A40F004 Global warming is caused by human activity. Gore shows pictures of factories pumping out smoking gases and talks about how the greenhouse gases humans are pumping into the environment as well as the fires burning from deforestation are causing the warming. China too is burning mountains of coal, using old technologies. According to him cause of our ecological troubles is population pressure. The more people we have, the more pollution, CO2, methane, cars, airplanes, refrigerators, forest destruction. We put pressure on food, water, natural resources. More burning of forests. Tractors, refrigerators, detergents are more environmentally destructive human activities. Impacts of global warming on climate of India:- The effect of global warming on the climate of India has led to many climate disasters . India is a disaster prone area, with the statistics of 27 out of 35 states being disaster prone, with floods being the most frequent disasters. The process of global warming has led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of these climatic disasters. According to surveys, in the year 2007-2008, India ranked the third highest in the world regarding the number of significant...
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