Promoting Carbon Efficiency |
 Dave Thurlow, Host |
In 1997, the US failed to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, disappointing many environmentalists. But a new proposal may change the governments mind. Hi, I'm Dave Thurlow from the Mount Washington Observatory and this is The Weather Notebook.
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol requires rich industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to agreed upon levels in the next 10 years. But developing nations were not required to set any formal emissions limits. This is what the US has a problem with. The US insists that some of the developing countries accept emission targets before it cuts its own. The developing countries argue that fixed emissions limits would stifle their economic growth.
A new proposal requires developing countries to reduce the amount of carbon produced per dollar of their gross national product, instead of meeting absolute limits. Basically, this means that the plan calls for developing countries to improve the carbon efficiency of their economies.
Now the plan is not without it's critics. Many say that without set absolute limits on emissions, the plan is ignoring the very physics of global warming. But the plan has the US interested, along with two key countries like Mexico and South Korea.
Whether the US signs on when the rules for the agreement are drafted at the end of next year still has to be determined. But the hope is that carbon-efficiency targets are enough to break the current deadlock in climate change negotiations.
The Weather Notebook is underwritten by Subaru, the beauty of all wheel drive with major support provided by the National Science Foundation.
Related Links
Text of the Kyoto Protocol - CNN
Global Warming FAQs - Natural Resources Defense Council
The U.S. will not sign the Kyoto-protocol - Bellona Magazine
Perspectives on the Kyoto Protocol - International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
