I agree with just about everything in the post, Mikhail.
There are some other things, however, that concern me about Kyoto. I really think that the US objection that it does nothing for non-Annex I countries is a legitimate concern. Right now, it's getting very close to 50/50 in terms of who emits carbon (Annex I/Non-Annex I countries). Kyoto is incomplete without a more concrete plan for what to do about these countries, since these are the ones that will matter, and the whole idea of an international treaty is that you are getting everyone committed to doing something so that you don't have a tragedy of the commons situation. Now, of course you have to make allowances for the fact that these countries are still developing economies. But some sort of tangible, concrete commitment is necessary over the longer term for these countries if the US is to sign on. The CDM is something, but it doesn't really mandate anything, it just gives Annex I countries the opportunity to pursue clean development projects in exchange for emissions credits.
You should probably read this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002119.html
It gives a different perspective on the real-world effects of the kyoto protocol. I found it insightful.
Hey Mikhail,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link. I will further post when I finish this paper, but it's due in about 19 hours or so!
No problem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with just about everything in the post, Mikhail.
ReplyDeleteThere are some other things, however, that concern me about Kyoto. I really think that the US objection that it does nothing for non-Annex I countries is a legitimate concern. Right now, it's getting very close to 50/50 in terms of who emits carbon (Annex I/Non-Annex I countries). Kyoto is incomplete without a more concrete plan for what to do about these countries, since these are the ones that will matter, and the whole idea of an international treaty is that you are getting everyone committed to doing something so that you don't have a tragedy of the commons situation. Now, of course you have to make allowances for the fact that these countries are still developing economies. But some sort of tangible, concrete commitment is necessary over the longer term for these countries if the US is to sign on. The CDM is something, but it doesn't really mandate anything, it just gives Annex I countries the opportunity to pursue clean development projects in exchange for emissions credits.