KYOTO 101



The Kyoto Protocol is the one and only international framework we’ve got going for us in the fight against global warming. It was conceived in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, and after years of slow-mo negotiations between the participating countries finally took effect in February 2005.

KYOTO - THE BASICS ON SAVING OUR PLANET

  The nuts and bolts: 

 

• Requires 38 industrialized nations around the world to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions 5.2% below the level they were at in 1990 by 2012.

• Strives to lower the overall emissions of the big six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs and PFCs.

• Two rounds of targets are in place. The first set of reductions will be calculated as an average over the five-year period from 2008 to 2012.

• Creates an inter-related, global framework to deal with a global problem.
  

Under Kyoto, reduction targets vary for each country. Developing countries (China, India, Brazil) don’t have to limit their emissions by 2012 because their greenhouse gas emissions per capita come nowhere close to those of Europe and North America. It's based on the logic that those countries polluting the most should act first.

Europe and North America have been polluting basically since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and are in a league of our own in terms of environmental damage. Other countries that aren’t as advanced industrially therefore do not have to curb their emissions – yet. Many countries on the up and up industrially will pose a major threat in the near future (China and India). Check out these stats on the top emitting countries and who is doing what for Kyoto:

^{Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/gmaps/greenhouse-emitters/}

How to meet targets under Kyoto:

• A country must reduce its output of greenhouse gases. There's a bunch of ways to do this. Try boosting the fuel-efficiency requirements on vehicles. Cut coal-fired power plants.

• A country can buy emissions credits from 'greener' nations if they can't curb their own emissions adequately.

• A country can earn credits through something called 'joint implementation'. That means doing something that benefits another country. Plant 1,000 acres of trees in China, for example.

• A country can invest in developing countries by encouraging environmentally progressive technology.

The upside of this trade-off is that rich countries can help developing countries develop more cleanly than we did. The criticism is that rich countries can buy their way out without changing their destructive lifestyles.

Are you wondering about penalties? Yeah, there are penalties if a country flakes out:

• If a country doesn't meet its targets for 2012 it must make up the difference plus 30% in the second commitment period.

• A country will also lose its ability to sell credits through the emissions trading system.

Kyoto is controversial. Many think the goals are unreasonable and will affect the global economy drastically. Opponents in Canada wonder why we should have to reduce our emissions if the States don't, and won't that screw up our own economy? Some dislike the fact that it doesn’t treat all countries equally. A great number of environmentalists think the levels are too paltry to have any effect whatsoever on global warming. The trick is starting to act and cutting out all this nonsense chit-chat.

But don't get your hate-on for Kyoto. It establishes a very important precedent: climate change is now on the public agenda. It sets specific targets and deadlines. And it shows that rich countries must take the lead, since rich countries became rich at the expense of the planet.


      ^{Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/gmaps/greenhouse-emitters/}

So what’s Canada’s deal?

The Government of Canada sided with Kyoto when it was created in December of 1997. At the time, everyone in Ottawa felt good about a global framework. Then it seems like they just sat around for a while.


A brief timeline of Kyoto in Canada:

• December 2002 Canada ratifies Kyoto and agrees to meet a legally binding target of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to 6% below the 1990 level during 2008-2012. Lots of backslapping and high-fives ensue.

• 2003 Canada's GHG emissions are 24% above the 1990 level—nowhere even close to meeting our Kyoto targets.

• April 2005 Liberal Government unveils “Moving Forward on Climate Change: A Plan for Honouring Our Kyoto Commitment”. They pledged $10 billion over 7 years, with a goal to cut Canada’s GHGs by 270 megatonnes a year between 2008 and 2012. But then one small thing gets in the way: politics.

• January 2006 A new federal government, led by Stephen Harper, comes into power. The Liberals leave office with emissions soaring. Doubts about our commitment to Kyoto emerge. Harper claims Kyoto is too “disruptive” to Canada’s economy.

• October 2006 The Conservative Government announces the Clean Air Act, a ‘Made In Canada’ bill, pledging to cut Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions to 50% of 2003 levels by 2050. No dice. Not enough, not soon enough. Widespread anger from coast to coast erupts.

• February 2007 The opposition parties pass a non-binding motion in Parliament attempting to force the Conservative Government to abide by the Kyoto Protocol.

• Now The Conservatives are expected to announce a revamped plan. The political deliberations continue. With every passing month, Canada’s greenhouse gases rise as our international reputation plummets.
  
  

Because of urban growth and Alberta's booming energy industry, the country is wayyyy above its Kyoto target. We actually have the worst record of any Kyoto country. The dirty details of our GHG emissions are as follows:

• Our most recent rates: 758 million tonnes (2004)

• Percentage of world total: three per cent

• Per capita amounts: 23.5 tonnes

• Per capita rank: Third

• Kyoto targets: 563 million tonnes, which would require a 34.6 per cent cut from current levels

The Pembina Institute, one of Canada’s premier environmental policy research and educational groups, maintains that Canada only has a chance of meeting its Kyoto target if the necessary policies and measures are implemented immediately.

Among all this dilly-dallying, nothing says action like a massive FLICK OFF.

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^{Helpful Sources:
http://www.pembina.org/climate-change/work-kyoto.php
http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/gmaps/greenhouse-emitters/
http://www.ec.gc.ca/climate/kyoto-e.html
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/Kyoto/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/kyoto}