The Kyoto Protocol

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the Kyoto Protocol, an international response to scientific evidence that emission rates of greenhouse gases cause global climate change, which was originally signed by the Clinton administration in 1998. The paper explains that this act committed the United States to a seven percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. The paper states however, that in 2001, the Bush administration withdrew U.S. support for the protocol. The paper discusses the reasons given by the administration for the withdrawal of the agreement and shows that the arguments presented are based on factual information and are solid reasons for a refusal to ratify the protocol.

From the Paper:

"Additionally, the price tag on the implementation of Kyoto is based on preventative action, rather than a response to "real and present danger", a principle the United States has generally rejected. Bush notes that even the studies done that put Kyoto into action did not show conclusively that global climate change is an imminent danger, nor that a change in climate is related to human beings (Wallace, 2002). In fact, according to a recent article in Scientific American, human related climate change can be traced back as far as the dawn of agriculture, or 8,000 years ago. Even if all emissions were halted today, the levels of CO2 contained within the deep layers of the ocean will continue to be released over the next several hundred years (Tyldesley, 2005). Since more immediate human health issues exist, the Bush administration notes, those issues should be dealt with first (Wallace, 2002)."

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