Kyoto was a failure

Most of Europe, which has criticized the United States over its stance on global warming, looks set to miss a set of goals to cut greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol, a study revealed on Tuesday.

The findings by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) will make embarrassing reading for European governments that have berated Washington for its refusal to ratify the United Nations pact.

Of 15 countries in Europe signed up to Kyoto, only Britain and Sweden were on target to meet their commitments on reducing harmful gas emissions by 2012, said the IPPR, Britain's leading progressive think tank.

In contrast, 10 nations -- including Ireland, Italy and Spain -- would fail to do so unless they took urgent action, it said.

From here.

Right now, they are trying to start to hammer out the next treaty on curbing carbon emissions. This is despite the fact that somewhere around half the nations that accepted/ratified the Kyoto treaty will not actually make the target that they set: Europe is a large part of that and so too is Canada. Let's set the next goal even though we didn't meet this one. hmm. Small problem there.

Even more so, Kyoto didn't include the US. Right now, the US accounts for 25% of the CO2 emissions that are generated by human civilization. The US objected to Kyoto because it didn't impose on the developing countries at all either. The US argued that it should if it going to impose on some, it should on all. We were right. For the wrong reasons.

It was an unfair advantage issue that the US brought up. The fact of the matter is that China will shortly surpass the US in the amount of CO2 emissions: reason being the trade imbalance. Kyoto would not have imposed upon China whatsoever. Based on how things are going with the new negotiations, it looks like the developing nations - which includes China - are arguing that they shouldn't be held to the same standards as the developed nations. Still. India is on the rise too as far as carbon emissions and it too must be included.

Kyoto didn't negate the coming climate change. It probably didn't even mitigate it. The nations that are trumpeting it should not be holding themselves up as exemplars on climate change when they are, in fact, not. Climate change is coming. I do not deny that. I really think that we need to tackle this problem. EVERYONE has to tackle the problem, not just the developed nations. There's only one world and one atmosphere. Whatever gets put into it from one nation effects all of it. Especially with regards to greenhouse gasses.

My wife is looking at doing the numbers for a paper for her business class about the impact of Al Gore's proposed carbon emission tax (instead of payroll taxes). I'll post my extended numbers and opinion after her paper is back and graded. I don't want her to be penalized because I find the proposal interesting. I am unsure if it will work...or not. It is interesting though.