- 13/02/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
Climate change – is a serious long-term global problem which raises questions concerning justice and human rights, both within one generation and between generations. The ability of mankind to find answers to these questions demonstrates our ability to control the consequences of their actions. Dangerous climate change – is the threat, and not predetermined realities of life.
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists have come to a clear conclusion: the technological and financial challenge can be solved, with the global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 should be lowered at least more than 2 times the level of 1990. At the UN summit in 2007 in Germany, there was consensus on the need to develop and implement such a scenario. (Climate Change 2007)
In general, global emissions would still grow quite rapidly, by almost 2% per year. To achieve the above global target of 10-15, a maximum of 20 years, global emissions would need to reach the peak, stabilize, and then significantly reduced. In this context, the task of the new agreement is just “turn” of the world economy, primarily due to the energy scenario.
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto in late 1997, it entered into force in February 2005, the period of its obligations under this Protocol only just begun in January 2008 and will end in December 31, 2012.
United States – the largest economy in the world and the only among the developed countries who do not participate in the Kyoto Protocol. As for Australia, it has ratified the protocol before the Bali conference in December 2007 at the conference was a formal decision on the preparations for two years a new international agreement.
As a starting point the IPCC recommendations have been taken: by 2050, reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to levels well below 50% from 1990 levels, by 2020, reduce emissions of all industrialized countries in general, 25-40% (the level of 1990). (Kyoto Protocol)
The emissions trading scheme, its purposes and operation
The Australian government is introducing an emissions trading scheme (ETS) to fulfill its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol; and to strategically position itself in the event that an international ETS is established following the successful negotiation of a post‐Kyoto agreement.
International trading in greenhouse gas emissions, part of the Kyoto Protocol, began on 1 January 2005. Each State Party to the Kyoto Protocol has committed itself to produce greenhouse gases not exceeding than he definitely Agreement. Emitting less than this amount, the state has an opportunity to sell their rights for the remainder of the quota. Conversely, if market participants need large quotas, it does not necessarily reduce emissions itself, the right to appropriate the amount available on the market. It should additionally be interested parties to the Protocol to reduce emissions to specified quantities.
The Kyoto Protocol has set out for each participating country some initial quota of greenhouse gas emissions, the amount of gases, which the State may exercise without any sanctions from the outside, free of charge – the so-called right of issuing notes. It is assumed that participating countries have committed to reduce, will achieve this primarily through the introduction of advanced technologies, upgrading existing plants, more stringent environmental controls, development of alternative renewable energy sources, the use of new fuels.
If a State or an individual enterprise is not able to achieve their obligations through more efficient production processes, the Kyoto Protocol flexibility mechanisms incorporated. Their purpose, first, to provide developed countries participating in economic opportunities in fulfilling its obligations and, secondly, to provide participating countries with developing economies to attract major investment capital for environmental projects in their territories. (Bowen 2008)
There are three main mechanisms:
1) A joint implementation projects. They require full or partial reduction of greenhouse gases on the territory of one state will commit to reduce, by investing another obliged the state.
2) Secondly, it is the clean development projects, where the reduction of emissions from the territories of developing countries, which do not set limits on emissions at the expense of investments from developed countries.
3) And the last mechanism (use up to a certain extent incorporated in his previous two) – emissions trading, in which the State or separate business entities in its territory can buy and sell quotas for greenhouse gas emissions at the national, regional or international markets. (Bowen 2008)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.