Kyoto Protocol - Common but Differentiated Responsibilities

Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama, during Obama's visit in China, had agreed to improve Sino-US relations. They had also sought to improve cooperation in climate change, energy and environment, as President Hu reiterated, on the basis of the "common but differentiated responsibilities" principle and their respective capabilities to help produce positive results at next month's Copenhagen summit on climate change.
(Pic: Hu Jintao shakes hands with visiting Obama in Beijing on Nov, 2009.) (Xinhua)

When the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997, countries are worried that its implementation would bring about slow economic growth, starvation and political chaos.

The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

It was adopted in 1997 and effected in Feb 16, 2005.

It was signed by 141 nations, including all European and all other developed industrial nations ( called Annex I countries ) except the US and Australia. (The new prime minister of Australia, Mr. Kevin Rudd, within hours of his official sworn in on Dec 03, 2007, signed the instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and demonstrated Australia's commitment to tackling climate change.)

With climate change posing a serious threat to humanity, the Protocol aims at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases
in 37 developed countries by an average of

5.2 % of the 1990 level over the

5-year period 2008 - 2012.

Kyoto Protocol covers 6 greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, CH4, HFCs, PFCs, and SF₆.

Recognizing the wide range in countries' historic contributions to climate change, and in their capacities to address it, governments agreed they had "common but differentiated responsibilities."

To be fair and effective, the international effort must engage all the world's major economies, which requires a flexible international framework allowing countries to take on different types of commitments.

The Kyoto Protocol sets specific emissions reduction targets for each industrialized nation, but excludes developing countries.

Developed countries are to assist developing countries on finance and technology transfer as management of sinks, integrating climate change into economic policies and actions, climate research, education and training.

Developed countries that are unable to meet their targets by 2012 will have to make both the promised cuts and 30% in a second period from 2013.

Kyoto Protocol is a Commitment for the Planet

Developed countries, which started industrialization in the 17th century, are very much responsible for the accumulated air pollution and global warming effect. They have high per capita emissions, produce most of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change, thus they are most bound by the protocol.

Developing countries in their effort to catch up, have also been contributing substantially to greenhouse emissions. Comparatively, their per capita emissions are much lower (See chart : Carbon Emissions Per Person ). Even then, they also need to fulfill their share of responsibilities in the battle of climate change mitigation. Whilst engaged in sustainable development projects, they need to resort to adaptive measures to reduce emissions.

Some Top Carbon Dioxide Emitters (2004)

*Country*	Total emissions (1000 tons of C)	Per capita emissions (tons/capita)	Per capita emissions (rank)
*1. United States*	1,656,020	5.61	(9)
*2. China (mainland)*	1,366,554	1.05	(92)
*3. Russian*	415,951	2.89	(28)
*4. India*	366,301	0.34	(129)
*5. Japan*	343,117	2.69	(33)
*6. Germany*	220,596	2.67	(36)
*7. Canada*	174,401	5.46	(10)
*8. United Kingdom*	160,179	2.67	(37)
*9. France*	101,927	1.64	(66)
*10. Brazil*	90,499	0.50	(118)
*11. Australia*	89,125	4.41	(13)
*12. Saudi Arabia*	84,116	3.71	(18)

Source: Marland, G., T.A. Boden, R. J. Andres. 2004. Global, Regional, and National CO2 Emissions. In Trends:
A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A.

Chart origin: World Resources Institute

Unfortunately, when the Kyoto Protocol entered into force, the two major greenhouse gas emitters, the United States and Australia, refused to be bound by the Kyoto Protocol.

George Bush, then President, withdrew US backing for the Kyoto protocol in March 2001, saying it would be too damaging to the country's economy and would cost five million jobs. He also claimed the agreement was based on unreliable science and unfairly excluded developing nations such as India, China and Brazil, which account for a third of the world's pollution.

United States argued that they would lose their economic competitiveness if major developing countries like China and India do not have any commitment of reduction.

On the other hand, developing countries are committed to advance their obligations under the Convention in mitigating adverse impacts of climate change.

Many developing countries have embarked on climate change mitigation using their own resources, resorting to renewable energy, energy efficiency and waste management.

How committed are the countries:

China and US set their own reduction targets to tackle climate change.

China pledges to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20% of 2005 by 2010.

Individual states in the US, led by New York's Governor, George Pataki, were putting together a system to cap and trade greenhouse gas emissions on their own initiatives.

In the US, the White House said President Barack Obama would go to the December 7-18 2009 climate change summit in Copenhagen, with an offer to cut US emissions by 3 % below 2005 levels by 2012, 17% by 2020, 42% by 2030, 80% by 2050

These levels fall short of those embraced in the negotiating blueprint drew up in Bali in 2007.. That blueprint envisions developed countries cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by a collective 25 - 40% below 1990 levels by 2020, and by 80 - 95% below 1990 levels by 2050.

China, almost immediately after US announcements, on November 26, 2009, says it is taking a voluntary action based on its own national conditions to aim for energy efficiency, to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by up to 45% by 2020. Though China is not an Annex I country thus not bound by the Kyoto Protocol to meet reductions target, it is in a very special category as it had by 2007,overtaken US as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. As Kim Carstensen, the leader of WWF’s global climate initiative put it: “Given the size of China’s economy, the decoupling of China’s economic growth from growth in emissions is one of the most important factors that will determine whether the world can get on course to keep temperature rise below two degrees Celsius."

Japan
"Japan will make all efforts to respect the rules of the protocol. It will neither be easy nor insurmountable." Takashi Omura, of the Japanese environment ministry. Japan has offered up a 25% cut below 1990 levels by 2020.

Britain
"Over 30-40 years...this is going to be a major, major issue. It's going to cause difficulty, if not catastrophe, for parts of the world and will also affect our own. The only solution, I'm afraid, is ... we have got to pull the Americans back into dialogue." Tony Blair

Australia
"Until the major polluters of the world, including the US and China, are made part of the Kyoto regime, it is next to useless and indeed harmful for a country such as Australia to sign up." Prime Minister John Howard

Russia
"The Kyoto Protocol in itself cannot solve all problems affecting the environment and the climate. We will continue efforts aimed at ... taking into account that this does not cover all developing regions." Deputy Foreign Minister, Yury Fedotov

Mexico

"The time has come to confront a reality that puts at risk the equilibrium of the planet and the survival of our species." President Vicente Fox

UN
"Climate change requires a concerted global response. I call on the world community to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol, and to act quickly in taking the next steps." UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.

EU
"We are eager to engage in a constructive, forward-looking international process with all our partners on how we can achieve the necessary reductions" European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso

Europe by Nov 2009, has indicated it is striving to reduce EU emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020 – and intend to a further reduction to 30% by then if other industrial countries commit ambitious plans of their own.

So far, according to the outcome of the Bali Climate Conference, the mechanisms for implementing the finance and technology transfer resources, have been disappointing. There is a large development deficit in terms of unfulfilled finance and technology obligations. Many developing countries are also disappointed that even this limited resources available are channeled into mitigation, thus neglecting adaptation or development.

In addition, developed countries (Annex I countries) have not made enough progress in meeting their reduction targets. The UNFCCC's " Greenhouse Gas Data 2006" report reported a worrying upward trend in the 2000 - 2004 period. The UN Environment Programme
( UNEP ) 's Geodata reports a rise of carbon dioxide emissions in Western Europe from 3.5 to 3.6 billion metric tons and 5.5 to 6.4 in North America despite all the high profile commitment agreed. During the financial crisis of 2008, carbon credits were traded as low as below USD 9. This means that many industries and committed parties could resort to 'buying reductions' from the carbon trading market, without having to resort to the actual action and implementation of reduction process at all!

To be continued.......

References and related news:

CERs Charts: Cdm.ccchina.gov.cn
Unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php
Australia is Now a Part of the Kyoto Protocol - March 2008
EIA: Official Energy Statistics from the US Government
Kyoto Protocol - Should the United States Ratify the Kyoto Protocol?
Five Economics Term Paper Topic Suggestions - Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol - Should the United States Ratify the Kyoto Protocol?
Kyoto Protocol Appears Doomed
Bush is Accused of Hot Air as Kyoto Comes into Force - Americas ...

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