The Kyoto Protocol

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Recommended: Effect Of Kyoto Protocol

In regard to the Kyoto protocol David Miliband, United Kingdom environment minister under Prime Minister Tony Blair, has argued that its “an After you Claude situation” based on the fact that no country wants to be the “first in taking action to cut their greenhouse emissions for fear that the other government will fail to follow. So they find ways to stall, while their greenhouse gas output climbs steadily skywards” (Milliband in Financial Times) . This paper does not ignore other major problems of the Kyoto Protocol such as funding, but, instead will only look at what Milliband has identified as the problem with the Kyoto Protocol as mentioned above. First we will discuss the main problem he identifies and then we will look at the possible ways to resolve it.

Under the principle of the “common but differentiated responsibilities” the Kyoto Protocol is an agreement that binds 37 developed countries to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas. It was adopted on December 11th 1997 and entered into force in 2005. As a result of 150 industrial activity in the developed nations, the protocol commits them to stabilize the emissions through national initiatives and different means in meeting their targets: the Emission trading, clean development mechanisms and joint implementation (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC)

In the face of climate change, the richest countries in the world have been reluctant to reduce their greenhouses emissions and continue to undermine the goals and objective of the Kyoto Protocol. Milliband has argued that this is due to the fact that no country, the wealthiest countries in particular, will take the first steps of reducing its greenhouses gas emissions without any certainly that ...

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...Guide: Climate Change”. 2011. Web. 20 April 2011.

Harvey Fiona. “Lose- Lose: the Penalties of Acting Along Stall Collective Effort on Climate Change” Financial Times. 6 December 2006. Web. 20 April 2011

Karp, Larry and Zhao, Jinhua. “A Proposal for the Design of the Successor to the Kyoto Protocol”. Discussion Paper 08-03, Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements”. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. Cambridge MA. September 2008. Web. 20 April 2011.

Mccarthy, Shawn. “China, India, Brazil Must Pull Weight in Climate Change Accord, Baird Says” Globe and Mail. 3 December 2010. Web. 20 April 2011.

Rabe, Barry C. Beyond Kyoto: Climate Change Policy in Multilevel Governance Systems, “Governance” (2007) 20:3. 423-444. Print.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. “Kyoto Protocol”. Web. 20 April 2011.

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