Impact of Kyoto Protocol Across Countries - Research Paper Example

 Impact of Kyoto Protocol Across Countries Global Warming Global warming is a process that occurs due to natural processes. However, it is also engendered by the activities of man. Measurements of surface temperature and the imputed surface temperature data for the past thousand years has clearly shown that anthropogenic interventions have contributed significantly to the contemporary global warming trend. Specifically, global warming has been at an increasingly accelerated pace since the Industrial Revolution of the mid – 1800s[Hur10]. Several scientists have conducted a number of research studies, in this area, and have come to the irrefutable conclusion that the greenhouse gases produced by human activity are the chief cause for the current dramatic increase in global warming[Hur10]. It is now an incontrovertible fact that the climate of the earth will get warmer. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change located at Geneva, has published several estimates regarding the extent to which the global climate will become warmer. These estimates have been based on the assumption that increased energy use will be the prime outcome of increased economic growth[Moo08]. Such energy is derived from fossil fuels; hence, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is bound to increase. Some of these estimates had stated that there will be an increase of 2° to 3° Celsius, by the year 2000. A very disquieting feature of these predictions has been the contention that the maximum temperature increase will be experienced at the polar ice caps[Moo08]. During the past six decades, there has been a significant and disturbing increase in the proportion of greenhouse gases to the other gases in the atmosphere. This unwelcome trend commenced with the advent of the Industrial Revolution that transpired around two centuries ago[Gei11]. However, this increase has been pronounced from the 1950s. The cardinal increase has been with regard to carbon dioxide. This gas has its origins in plant and animal respiration and decomposition, natural fires and active volcanoes. Furthermore, the carbon dioxide converted to oxygen, via photosynthesis is replenished by these natural sources of carbon dioxide[Gei11]. The increase in carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases has been established by scientists, who drilled holes in the earth’s geographical poles and procured ice core samples that clearly indicated this enhancement. In a manner that is akin to the rings found in trees, ice core samples exhibit rings, which permit accurate dating. The accumulation of water and snow during each season, which in turn forms ice in these places, results in the trapping of air bubbles. These captive air bubbles are subjected to tests, in order to determine the presence of greenhouse gases. It is indeed disquieting that these tests have conclusively established that a drastic increase in carbon dioxide is taking place[Gei11]. The burning of fossil fuels and the colossal loss of vegetation has significantly contributed to global warming. Loss of vegetation results in the removal of plants that carry out photosynthesis. This process, which takes place in the presence of sunlight, releases oxygen from the absorbed carbon dioxide, which constitutes a two – fold benefit, as carbon dioxide is absorbed and oxygen is discharged into the atmosphere. Moreover, the burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which had been stored for millennia in decayed animal and plant material into the atmosphere[Gei11]. Although, several discussions have transpired with regard to the methods to be adopted to reduce this inexorable harm being caused to the environment, there is no clarity regarding the measures to be adopted. In general, two responses have been advocated for addressing this problem. The first of these recommends the employment of measures that will immediately mitigate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions across the globe. The second approach assumes that no human intervention can effectively reduce pollution in the long run. Consequently, it recommends that the people should be made more resilient and capable of withstanding the effects of this crisis[Gei11]. Due to the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbons, the surface temperature of the earth experiences an increase from its average temperature. The layer of greenhouse gases formed in the atmosphere effectively prevents the escape of reradiated solar energy into space. On account of this blanket of greenhouse gases, the earth experiences a stable, clement and life – sustaining climate (Hurst 201). It is the usual practice, although imprecise, to employ the term global warming instead of climate change and vice versa. The Kyoto Protocol which became effective in February 2005, imposed restrictions on the quantity of greenhouse gases that could be emitted into the atmosphere. This protocol, save for the exception of the US, was ratified by all the industrialized countries. Moreover, Canada, Japan and the European Union consented to specific limits on these emissions[Fre11]. China and India, while ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, did not agree to specific limits on the emission of greenhouse gases. In the US, a number of environmental groups, New York City and 10 states requested the Securities and Exchange Commission to compel US firms to divulge the consequences of the dangers related to climate change on their fiscal functioning[Fre11]. In its report, ‘Summary of Policy Makers’, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change categorically declared that global warming is unquestionable and that in the past half century, it was engendered principally by human endeavor. This institution emerged under the aegis of the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Programme[Rai07]. Its objectives are the evaluation of the socioeconomic, technical and scientific information relating to the comprehension of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change refers to the work of scientists from 130 countries and has succeeded in representing unanimity within the global scientific community. The scientific information that this entity considers is solely peer – reviewed[Rai07]. On the basis of computer simulations, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has come to the disturbing conclusion that human activity has brought about the recent global warming. Increase in carbon dioxide levels has been chiefly attributed to the burning of fossil fuels. As such, global warming is principally brought about by increasing carbon dioxide levels[Rai07]. As of the year 2005, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere were of the order of 379 parts per million, which was far in excess of the carbon dioxide concentrations over the previous 650,000 years. During that period, the carbon dioxide levels had been estimated at 180 to 300 parts per million. This represents a significant increase over the carbon dioxide levels, prior to industrialization, when these levels were around 280 parts per million[Rai07]. Such increase has not been confined to carbon dioxide, and the other greenhouse gases have also depicted a significant increase. For instance, methane levels in the atmosphere increased to 1774 parts per billion, and nitrous oxide increased to 319 parts per billion, as of the year 2005. During the pre – industrial era, these concentrations had been 715 and 270 parts per billion, respectively. Despite the warning note being struck by this report, the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, namely the US, Australia, China and India have paid scant regard to this denunciation[Rai07]. The difficulty and threat to the environment arises due to human activities, such as the consumption of fossil fuels, deforestation, and pollution, which contribute significantly to the increase of carbon dioxide in the environment. In addition to being a serious issue that engages science, and causes untold harm to the environment; global warming is also a major problem that raises ethical and humanitarian concerns. Works Cited Hur10: , (Hurst 203), Hur10: , (Hurst 204), Moo08: , (Moore S41), Gei11: , (Geisel 1465), Gei11: , (Geisel 1466), Gei11: , (Geisel 1468), Fre11: , (Freedman and Jaggi 46), Rai07: , (Rainer), Read More