The Kyoto controversy. And the US.

As soon as the Kyoto treaty is mentioned, the first question that will spring into anybodies mind is “Why did the US pull out?”

US President George W Bush pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, his reason being it would gravely damage the U.S. economy. His administration claimed the treaty was "fatally flawed", mainly because it does not require developing countries to commit to emission reductions, especially since the developing countries will be the main driver for emission levels in the near future. On the other hand, China agreed to the Kyoto treaty, and they have the biggest economy in the world. The world's most populous country reduced its emissions, in absolute terms, 19 percent between 1997 and 2000. This is simply unprecedented, especially considering that China's economy grew by 15% over the same period (1999). Although the exact causes of the emissions decline aren’t certain, China has been engaged in energy policy reforms over the last two decades to promote energy efficiency and conservation.

George Bush’s thoughts on the matter are that instead of actions like the Kyoto treaty, he backs emission reductions through voluntary action and new energy technologies, for example they have found ways to use fossil fuel and still be clean about it, i.e. coal stack scrubbers and more efficient burning in cars. Despite the effort, even though completely dwarfed by countries like China, it won’t amount to the 80% decline in emissions that we desperately need.

President Bush has made many question the effectiveness of the Kyoto Treaty, and whether in the long run it will actually benefit us all. Most climate scientists say that the targets set in the Kyoto Protocol are merely scratching the surface of the problem. The treaty aims to reduce emissions from industrialised nations by around 5%, whereas the consensus among many climate scientists is that in order to avoid the worst consequences of global warming, emissions cuts in the order of 60% across the globe are needed.

One of the reasons there is so much controversy regarding the involvement, or rather lack of involvement, of the U.S. in the Kyoto treaty is that they are one of the countries with a gargantuan set of resources, and that climate change doesn’t seem to be their main focus. This has led to criticism that the agreement is virtually obsolete without US support. I personally feel the U.S., being the massive and incredibly influential country it is, should be the main leader in the quest for climate change.