by: Shine Manching
According to Semple, to see whether the world can do a better job of controlling the man-made greenhouse gases, delegates from 194 countries gathered in Durban, South Africa. These nations promised to reduce emissions by about 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Unfortunately, only 37 nations agreed to binding targets under the treaty. Global emissions of carbon dioxide rose by 38 percent and emissions from countries dropped by about one-third. Western Europe reduced emissions by 5 percent through substituting natural gas for coal and in Germany; renewable energy sources like solar power are greatly increasing. China and India made no pledges at Kyoto because they argued that the industrialized world caused most of the problems and therefore it is their responsibility to solve it. Thus, countries that did not agree to Kyoto have their emissions more than doubled and China’s have tripled. In the case of United States, President George W. Bush refused to ratify the Kyoto.
Emissions of carbon dioxide progressively increase in the 1990s. It then leveled off after the year 2000 because of rules involving more energy efficiency started to break down. Further developments are within reach. Old coal-fired power plants in the United States are closing, prices of natural gas dropped and automobiles are becoming more efficient. Sources like solar power are introduced in poor African nations. Are these moves enough? Approximately not. As scientists would say, “the world needs a wholesale shift in the way the world produces and uses energy, and the time window for such a shift is closing. The question at Durban is whether the world can act before the window slams shut”.
Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/opinion/sunday/remember-kyoto-most-nations-dont.html?ref=kyotoprotocol
According to Semple, to see whether the world can do a better job of controlling the man-made greenhouse gases, delegates from 194 countries gathered in Durban, South Africa. These nations promised to reduce emissions by about 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Unfortunately, only 37 nations agreed to binding targets under the treaty. Global emissions of carbon dioxide rose by 38 percent and emissions from countries dropped by about one-third. Western Europe reduced emissions by 5 percent through substituting natural gas for coal and in Germany; renewable energy sources like solar power are greatly increasing. China and India made no pledges at Kyoto because they argued that the industrialized world caused most of the problems and therefore it is their responsibility to solve it. Thus, countries that did not agree to Kyoto have their emissions more than doubled and China’s have tripled. In the case of United States, President George W. Bush refused to ratify the Kyoto.
Emissions of carbon dioxide progressively increase in the 1990s. It then leveled off after the year 2000 because of rules involving more energy efficiency started to break down. Further developments are within reach. Old coal-fired power plants in the United States are closing, prices of natural gas dropped and automobiles are becoming more efficient. Sources like solar power are introduced in poor African nations. Are these moves enough? Approximately not. As scientists would say, “the world needs a wholesale shift in the way the world produces and uses energy, and the time window for such a shift is closing. The question at Durban is whether the world can act before the window slams shut”.
Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/opinion/sunday/remember-kyoto-most-nations-dont.html?ref=kyotoprotocol
