Kyoto Accords

The Kyoto Accords, formally called the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is an international treaty that commits countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. The treaty was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, opened for signature on March 15, 1999. It entered into force on February 16, 2005. Currently 163 countries have ratified the treaty, a notable exception being the United States. The Kyoto Accords represent the first multilateral effort to reduce greenhouse gasses, which scientists believe are responsible for global climate change, and have been vigorously supported by international environmental groups and the scientific community at large. A large grassroots movement has arisen in Europe and the United States that has spearheaded the international campaign.

The six greenhouse gases that are regulated under the protocol are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs, and PFCs. The protocol aims to reduce the collective greenhouse gas emissions of industrialized countries by 5.2% below 1990 levels calculated as an average over the 5-year period of 2008 to 2012. Because emissions continued to rise after that date, however, this figure realistically represents a 29% reduction. Each country has different reduction targets. For instance, the European Union has agreed to reduce its emissions by 8%, the United States by 7% and Japan by 6%. Some countries are allowed increases under the protocol, such as Australia, which can increase its emissions by 8%, and Iceland, which can increase its emissions by 10%. These individual targets are based on economic and other relevant considerations.

The protocol contains several controversial provisions that some say limit its effectiveness. First, the protocol allows for emissions trading, by which countries that have met their targets can sell emissions credits to countries that otherwise would not. Also, countries can meet their targets through carbon dioxide “sinks”—forests and other systems that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but do nothing to limit actual emissions. Economists have generally been in favor of both provisions because they distribute the burden according to the principles of the free market, while environmentalists have viewed the provisions as ways for countries to shirk their responsibilities.

Another controversy centers on the fact that developing countries have no commitments under the current Kyoto Accords. Thus, although both China and India are signatories, they do not need to take any concrete steps to limit their emissions. Debate on this issue has been vigorous. On one hand, countries such as the United States and Australia argue that any agreement must include developing countries to be effective. On the other, developing countries argue that historically most emissions have originated and continue to originate in developed countries and that requiring developing countries to meet the same standards hurts them economically in unfair ways.