What is the Kyoto Protocol?
History:
The concept of sustainable development dates back a long way but it was at the UN Conference on Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972) that the international community met for the first time to consider global environment and development needs.
The 20th anniversary of Stockholm took place in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The UN Conference on Environment and Development, the "Earth Summit", agreed on Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration.
The Summit brought environment and development issues firmly into the public arena. Along with the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 it led to agreement on two legally binding conventions: Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC).
The Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a document signed by about 180 countries at Kyoto, Japan, in december 1997.
The protocol commits 38 industrialised countries to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases between 2008 to 2012 to levels that are 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels.
How are greenhouse gases produced and what impact do they have on the environment?
Greenhouse gases is a term a used for gases (like carbon dioxide) which are mainly generated as a result of burning fossil fuels like coal, petrol and diesel.
While, the use of these fuels have helped industrialisation enormously, it has caused a steady increase in levels of carbon rich gases and other pollutants. Scientists predict that higher levels of greenhouse gases will cause a significant warming of the earth by about one to five degrees celcius.
This could cause potentially disastrous changes in the environment like violent storms, expanding deserts and melting ice caps, causing sea levels to rise and engulf coastal regions.
According to one estimate, global warming could cost the world about $5 trillion. Developing countries are expected to be the hardest hit.
