KYOTO PROTOCOL

Biology

Research Assignment
Research on when, where and why the Kyoto Protocol was established. Mention the impacts of it today.

Ahsan Kamran
MYP 4
 Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was a peace treaty on climate change in the whole world. The Kyoto
Protocol had its origins in 1992, when 180 countries of the world signed a pact, which focused
on reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere [ CITATION Eri03 \l 1033 ].
Greenhouse gasses (such as Carbon Dioxide, Water vapor, Methane etc.) are harmful because
they trap a lot of the Sun’s rays that hit the Earth, making the Earth a warmer place.
Even though the pact was signed in 1992, there was barely any practice on the promise
made. As a result, on the 11th of December 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was established in the city
of Kyoto, Japan. The Kyoto Protocol aimed to start practice on this agreement. The Kyoto
Protocol mentioned 6 greenhouse gasses, and the developed countries of the world decided to
reduce the total amount of greenhouse gasses in the 1990s by 5.2% (for most countries). This
was to be done between the years 2008 and 2012 [ CITATION Pau98 \l 1033 ].
The reason that the Kyoto Protocol was established was that the level of greenhouse
gasses in the 1990s reached so high that some people predicted that it was the end of the world.
Because those greenhouse gasses trapped so much heat, the Earth warmed up way too much. As
a result, the Kyoto Protocol aimed to reduce the total amount of greenhouse gasses in the Earth’s
atmosphere.
In the year 2002, Russia and Canada both sanctioned the Kyoto Protocol [ CITATION
Kyo \l 1033 ], and promised to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gasses by 5.2% (for most
countries). However, in 2011, Canada officially withdrew from the agreement, thus becoming the
first country to do so. The Prime Minister of Canada then, Stephen Harper, stated that he is
opposed to Kyoto and withdrew from the agreement. A possible reason for this could be that
since decades ago, Canada was starting to industrialize more and more – its economy was
improving, but greenhouse gasses were being produced [ CITATION Bry11 \l 1033 ].
To enforce this protocol, a law was set. If a certain country failed to limit its emissions, it
would have to do them again in the second period. In that case, they would be restricted by 30%
more. In 2012, the agreement officially came to an end. This was because the agreement was
intended to last from 2008 to 2012. On 31st December 2012, the period of commitment expired.
There was great opposition to the Kyoto Protocol. One of the main reasons for this was
that the percentage restriction for different countries was different. The developed countries
(such as the United States of America) had a higher percentage restriction, whereas the
underdeveloped countries had a lower percentage rustication. This was because those developed
countries generally manufactured more material, which is why they had to burn more materials
and fossil fuels, which would have produced greenhouse gasses.
The Kyoto Protocol had a large impact on the environment. Even though one could state
that it was unfair in the sense that every country had a different percentage restriction, it did
improve the situation of the amount of greenhouse gasses. The level of carbon dioxide in the
1990s was the highest the world had experienced then in many centuries. By introducing the
Kyoto Protocol, this level did go down to some extent.
However, socially, the Kyoto Protocol was the cause of an unnecessary dispute between
different countries of the world. Had it been fair and implemented well, the countries would have
come to trust each other more.

References
Bond, E. (2003, January 16). The Kyoto Protocol. Retrieved from Climatechange.sea.ca:
http://climatechange.sea.ca/kyoto_protocol.html

Kay, P. (1998, March 9). Terms and Impacts of the Kyoto Protocol. Retrieved from Aph.gov.au:
http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/
Publications_Archive/CIB/CIB9798/98CIB10

Kyoto Protocol. (n.d.). Retrieved from Sussle.org: https://sussle.org/t/Kyoto_Protocol

Walsh, B. (2011, December 14). Bienvenue au Canada: Welcome to Your Friendly Neighborhood Petro-
State. Retrieved from Science.time.com: http://science.time.com/2011/12/14/bienvenue-au-
canada-welcome-to-your-friendly-neighborhood-petrostate/