International law: Kyoto Protocol



International law: Kyoto Protocol

Introduction

The most significant and well-known global response to climate change is the Kyoto Protocol.19 The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997 and requires industrialized countries to reduce emissions over an initial commitment period from 2008--2012.20 Although the United States re-fused to ratify the Protocol, it came into force with Russia's ratification in November 2004 (International Panel of Climate Change,2007)

On the front of international law, the Kyoto protocol has earned much controversy as some of the nations withdrew from this law. This issue created media hype and raised questions on its credibility and effectiveness. Keeping in view this controversy, the paper discusses the details of this issue and relevance to Canada.

Kyoto Protocol as an International Law

The Kyoto Protocol became international law and entered into force in 2005, when 55 countries, which only represent just over half-emitters, confirmed the protocol. The U.S. is the only country that symbolically joined to 2001 and withdrew completely from the commitment despite agreeing with the reduction of emissions. The countries of Central and South America are not required to reduce emissions, although overall 9% emit GHG. Most pollutants are from Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina, responsible for 70% of emissions in the region.

The protocol became binding international law for the 141 member - states that have ratified it, including Argentina, which must begin now to meet its targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming phenomenon(Dessler,2006).

The Legal Binding of the Protocol

In 2003, to comply with Kyoto's goals, the EU created the “largest emissions trading scheme ever implemented.” An emissions trading scheme (ETS) represents a government program that sets the quantity of authorized emissions and distributes permits accordingly, allowing the market to determine the price of carbon emissions. The EU ETS began on January 1, 2005, with a mandatory “warm-up” phase from 2005--2007, and a second mandatory phase from 2008--2012 that corresponds to the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period. As of 2009, the EU ETS covered “more than 10,000 installations in the energy and industrial sectors that are collectively responsible for about half of the EU's emissions of CO2 (Environment Canada,2007).

The Kyoto Protocol entered into force (becoming binding for its signatory parties) on February 16, 2005, after years of negotiations. The first two annual COPs were primarily planning and administration-oriented, assessing existing scientific data and setting midterm goals. COP-3 convened in Kyoto in December 1997. The protocol itself was agreed to over the 10-day period of the COP; more than seven years passed before it went into force because of prolonged debate over its implementation, which dominated the intervening COPs (Environment Canada,2007).

The Kyoto Protocol set legally binding emissions levels limits for the first emissions budget period of UNFCCC, 2008-12. Those limits, which represented the target average that must be achieved in that period for compliance, varied from country to country within Annex I as part of the “common but differentiated responsibilities,” with most countries required to target a reduction to levels about 7 percent less than ...