Kyoto Protocol IDC3O3 Ms. Nguyen

Climate Change Human activities clearly influence global climate change Canada will experience greater temperature changes than most regions of the world More heat waves Increased storms Floods Droughts Major shifts in fisheries Forestry Agricultural resource bases Damage to the northern ecosystems

Kyoto Protocol An agreement negotiated by many countries in December 11, 1997 Ratification on February 16, 2005 with Russia The terms required that at least 55 parties to ratify the agreement and for the total of those parties emission to be at least 55% of global production of greenhouse gases Developed under UNFCCC (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)

Continue… Committed to cut emissions of greenhouse gases such as: Methane (CH4) Nitrous oxide (N2O) Hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) Perflourocarbons (PFCs) Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

CONTINUE… Goal: To have participants collectively reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% below the emission level of 1990 by 2012 If participating countries continue with emissions above their target Must engage in emissions trading (i.e. buying “credits” ) Note: By 2005, Canada’s greenhouse emissions had increased by 25.3% over 1990 levels

Loop Hole Individual countries were assigned higher or lower targets and some countries were permitted increases India and China are not obligated to reduce greenhouse gas production because they are developing countries China and India now have one of the highest carbon emissions….but not the highest/capita Major hole in the Kyoto Protocol

SIGNING VS. RATIFICATION Signature is symbolic; a token gesture of support Ratification carries legal obligations and contractual arrangement 169 countries have ratified 2 countries (USA and Australia) refused to ratify Kyoto up until Dec. 2007 – when Australia did ratify, the USA still has not. US (largest emitter of carbon dioxide) Australia (highest amount of carbon dioxide emission per person)

Role of the US With only 4-5% of the world population, the US accounts for between 20-35 percent of the global emissions of greenhouse gases February 2002: US would use a “voluntary approach” Purpose of reducing ‘greenhouse gas intensity’ by 18% over 10 years ‘Greenhouse gas intensity’ is the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output Emissions would continue to increase as the economy grows but at a slower rate than out arrangement US opposition to Kyoto: the protocol and its policies were ‘inconsistent with freedom, prosperity and environmental policy progress’

CO2 Emission by Region

Carbon Offsets Carbon offset Two categories Financial transaction to compensate for the generation of GHG emissions through activities such as traveling or use of electricity Measures in metric tons of CO2 equivalent with one carbon offset equaling one ton of CO2 or equivalent greenhouse gas Two categories Government/companies purchasing carbon offset Within the Kyoto Protocol as an option to meet emissions targets Individuals/companies Purchase carbon offsets to mitigate the GHG emissions for activities such as travel Used to plant trees that absorb GHGs

Carbon Tax Tax would be levied on countries based on their generation of GHGs Creating a market for GHG emissions, with some countries not able to meet their target purchasing emission capacity from other countries Feb. 2008 British Columbia introduced the first carbon tax in Canada Rationale: “Carbon price” can help fix the imbalance between clean energy and carbon –intensive fossil fuel Introduce true cost of carbon emissions into equation Revenue can be used to pay for the massive increase in home efficiency and deployment of green energy technology

Kyoto – Success or Failure? Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are rising No signs of slowing down Global temperature continues to rise Positive feedback loops in nature being revealed that amplify warming Kyoto should be viewed as a stepping stone for more drastic action

Still unsure – Then Why Carry On? Precautionary principle: “When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically” Basically – when faced with reasonable suspicion of harm, the precautionary approach urges a full evaluation of available alternatives for the purpose of preventing or minimizing harm Success story – Montreal Protocol – International Treaty created in 1987 with objective of restoring and protecting the ozone layer http://ozone.unep.org/Publications/MP_A_Success_in_the_making-E.pdf