Kyoto protocol comes into force


Now if only our shitty administration could figure out that the U.S. is the biggest polluter on the face of the planet and that we need to take a part in this effort. Man, the arrogance of this country and the politicians here is inexcusable! I need to become one too so that I could present some alternative points of view on issues like these. It's so hard to take power from those who've always had it. I'm just afraid that I'll be around when major climate shifts happen and I'll regret not doing anything to prevent it when I had the chance. More stories on the Kyoto protocol soon.


Staff and agencies
Wednesday February 16, 2005

Guardian Unlimited
The delayed Kyoto protocol on global warming finally came into effect today, seven years after it was first negotiated.

Environmentalists welcomed the development, which comes amid increasing fears about the effects global warming is already having. However, many voiced concern that the US and some other key countries had yet to ratify the protocol and that it does not go far enough.

Tony Blair, the prime minister, today said he was determined to pull the US "back into dialogue" over the need to tackle climate change.

He sought to reassure Washington that investment in science and technology meant reducing emissions did not have to affect living standards and economic growth and reaffirmed his commitment to making the issue a key priority during Britain's presidency of the G8 group of industrialised nations this year.

In central London, around 50 Greenpeace demonstrators blowing foghorns stormed into the International Petroleum Exchange, bringing trading to a halt just before 2pm. Police were attending the scene. The activists said they wanted to make the point that the aims of the Kyoto protocol were modest. Their message to petroleum firms was that "people's futures [are] more important than their profits".

The Kyoto pact, which has been ratified by 140 countries - but not the US, Australia, China or India - officially came into force at midnight New York time (0500 GMT). It was first negotiated in Japan's ancient capital, Kyoto, in 1997 but its implementation has been delayed because of a requirement that countries accounting for 55% of the world's emissions must ratify it. That goal was only reached after Russia signed up to the deal last year.

The protocol, an adjunct to the 1992 UN treaty on climate change, imposes limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. It sets the target of a total cut of at least 5% in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2012.

Climate change experts warned of disastrous weather - including extremes of temperature, storms, droughts and floods and the melting of glaciers and the polar ice caps - if nothing is done to curb the emission of warm gases, which come mostly from transport and industry.

The environmental organisation Friends of the Earth welcomed today's development, but said more drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions were desperately needed.

Some commentators blame George Bush's administration for damaging efforts to prepare for a successor to the treaty, which expires in 2012.

The US, the world's largest emitter of such gases - accounting for almost one-quarter of global emissions - has refused to ratify the agreement. It had agreed to a 7% reduction before Mr Bush denounced the pact in 2001.

US officials argue that it would harm its economy and is flawed by the lack of restrictions on emissions by emerging economies such as China and India, which have also not signed up.

A White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, yesterday said "we are still learning" about the science of climate change. He said: "We have made an unprecedented commitment to reduce the growth of greenhouse gas emissions in a way that continues to grow our economy."

Speaking on Channel Five's The Wright Stuff, Mr Blair emphasised the importance of bringing China and India into the protocol, warning that within 40 years global warming was "going to be a major, major issue", while Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, described global warming as the "most significant issue for the human race in the next half century".

Australia defended its decision not to sign up to the protocol, although the environment minister, Ian Campbell, said the country was nevertheless on target to cut emissions by 30%.

The protocol focuses on carbon dioxide and five other gases that can trap heat in the atmosphere and are believed to be causing global temperatures to rise. Its targets vary by region, with the UK and other EU countries committed to cutting emissions to 8% below 1990 levels by 2012.

Since 1997, some countries have pledged to cut greenhouse gases further than the levels they had committed to in the treaty.

The enactment of the treaty today was being marked with a series of official events around the world. Japan planned to celebrate at the convention hall in which the accord was negotiated.

In a recorded message to be played at the event, the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, called on the world community to be "bold" in providing a "concerted global response" to the issue of climate change.

However, Japan - the world's second largest economy - is struggling to find ways to meet its obligations, with a report this month showing that 11 of the 30 leading Japanese industries risked failing to reach targets.

The country has also been especially active in carbon trading, a system under which governments have allocated carbon dioxide quotas to industrial facilities. Those emitting less gas can sell the "credit" to other companies that emit too much, and figures suggest Japan bought more than 40% of the available credits last year.

The Kyoto targets:

The 25 member states of the EU will redistribute their quotas among themselves, taking advantage of a protocol scheme known as a "bubble". Romania, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and Bulgaria, which are non-EU states, are also committed to cutting emissions by 8%.

Canada, Hungary, Japan, and Poland are committed to cutting emissions by 6%, Croatia by 5%. New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine and Norway are committed to allowing only a 1% rise in emissions. Australia agreed not to increase its emissions by more than 8%, and Iceland by no more than 10%.

Of the 140 countries that agreed upon the emissions targets, 30 are industrialised.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005