|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
This unit provides a brief introduction to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC). Go to the UN FCCC website and then to the Guide to the Climate Change Negotiation Process (pdf), which provides links to a variety of issues related to the protocol. Review the science statement, and then go to the Climate Change Convention . Of particular note is the definition of "Annex I", "Non-Annex I" , and "Annex II" countries. The Kyoto Protocol gives the requirements that have been established for Annex I and Non-Annex I countries. The timetable shows that the Protocol, which was open for signatures in March of 1998, has been signed by 84 countries (notably not the United States, however, in spite of the fact that the list given in the Climate Change Convention does not have an asterisk for the USA). John Anderson, writing for Resources for the Future (RFF) asks the question, "Could the Kyoto Protocol Go Forward Without U.S. Ratification?". He concludes that this might be a possibility - it has happened in the past with other major international treaties that he lists.
For those who are interested (not required), Jeffrey A. Frankel, on the RFF website, Weathervane, addresses the issue of "The Economics of the Kyoto Protocol and Global Climate Change Policy" . He points out 5 chasms that presently exist and need to be bridged for Kyoto or any agreement on climate change to be politically viable in the US.
A summary of this information is given in the Climate Change Information Kit .