The USA and Australia yesterday unveiled the "Post-Kyoto" treaty on global warming, which is also signed by 4 important Asian countries: China, India, Japan and South Korea
The USA and Australia yesterday unveiled the "After Kyoto" treaty on global warming, which is also signed by 4 important Asian countries: China, India, Japan and South Korea. The population of the six countries that are signatories to the new treaty constitutes almost half of the world's population, and together they contribute about half of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
The non-binding agreement does not include the Kyoto restrictions on gas emissions, and does not include target dates. Experts in the field of environmental quality criticize the new treaty and say that it does not set goals for implementation, and therefore will cause damage to the existing treaties.
As economic growth increases, the world consumes more energy and produces more greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide, which comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal in power plants and gasoline in cars. To combat this trend, the Kyoto Convention was signed, ratified by 141 countries and entered into force in February. The convention requires a reduction of gas emissions by 5.2% compared to their level in 1990, in the period between 2008 and 2012. The US and Australia are the only rich countries that are not signatories to the Kyoto Convention. Both countries claim that the Kyoto agreement is flawed, as it does not include the developing countries.
The representatives of Australia and the USA announced that the partnership between the Asian countries and those on the shores of the Pacific Ocean should promote innovative technologies to prevent the development of greenhouse gases, and that it does not pose a threat to the Tokyo Convention. "We are not detracting from the Kyoto Protocol. We complete it," said US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, at a press conference held in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. "Our goal is to complement other arts and offer practical solutions to problems," he added. Australian Prime Minister Ron Howard said the new treaty was "fairer and more effective than Kyoto". According to him, unlike Kyoto, the new treaty "will not harm jobs and will not unfairly punish Australian industry". The ministers added that the treaty "deals with energy issues, climate changes and air pollution within the framework of economic development".
Ministers from the six countries that signed the new agreement will gather for an opening meeting to be held in November in Adelaide, Australia. It should be noted that, unlike the USA and Australia, China and India have ratified the Kyoto Convention, but due to being developing countries they are not required to meet the obligations. China, which fears that environmental restrictions will harm its economic growth, defined the new treaty as the "ultimate solution" for developing and rich countries. According to environmentalists, the US is trying to influence the international agenda before the UN talks to be held in Montreal, which will focus on ways to expand the Kyoto Convention. The purpose of the talks in Montreal is to enable the inclusion of the developing countries in the convention, after 2012.
Kyoto Convention:
1997 - the year of drafting the convention, which was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
141 countries have ratified the treaty, which entered into force in February.
The USA and Australia are the only rich countries that have not ratified the treaty.
50% of the world's pollution is emitted by the two countries, which oppose Kyoto.
