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Who suffers from the kyoto protocol |
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Questions have
been raised as to who suffers from the Kyoto Protocol. Being such an
important Protocol, ratified as part of the United Nations Framework on
Climate Change, it is hard to imagine that any detrimental effects
could come from such a landmark agreement which involved the world's
leading industrial nations coming together to agree on something. That
in itself was seen as a positive step forward for the good of the
planet, but groups of people have stated their disgruntlement at the
shortened lengths to which the Kyoto Protocol goes. For a lot of
campaigners for the
fight against climate change, the agreement falls short in many areas.
Because it has not been seen to be doing enough, the Kyoto Protocol,
the inception of which was designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions,
may be bearing less than ideal circumstances upon certain people. The
main worry is that overall the agreements fails so badly, that exactly
who suffers from the Kyoto Protocol can be piled into one category, and
that is, everyone suffers. If the greenhouse gas emissions cannot be
controlled and brought under control, then the entire health of the
planet will suffer. The Kyoto Protocol was designed with these facts in
mind, and set about addressing the issues of climate change across the
entire globe. Emissions were to
be regulated and capped, but the sheer
imbalance of the whole Protocol, including flexible mechanisms which
allow failing countries to buy their way out of becoming greener, means
that there are cracks in the ideal which the environment cannot afford.
The people who suffer from the Kyoto Protocol are those who have lost
their jobs because of changes to manufacturing process, in which
businesses are needed to meet certain emission guidelines. Change costs
money, and the economic impact of making the world a greener and
healthier place comes at a very high price for those who own
businesses. Machinery needs to be cleaner, and working practices more
efficient, and therefore the cost has to be passed on somewhere.
Economies which have found it hard to adapt to climate change, are the
ones who are suffering. Because of the financial implications, the US
refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, for fear of signing anything that
would put their economy at risk.
The answer as to who suffers from the Kyoto Protocol, is everyone on
the planet, if it fails. There is a lot of good intentions within the
international agreement, and if that is the only outcome that may be a
good stepping stone for the future. Progress takes time and change
takes time. Some of the limitations of the Kyoto Protocol is that is
tries to impact an unreasonable amount of change in a small amount of
time. Campaigners will argue that a more measure, economic and
strategic approach to combating climate change would work much better
for everyone.
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