The reason for placing the onus on developed nations, according to the UNFCC, is twofold. Firstly, those developed countries will have an easier time paying the cost of cutting emissions. Secondly, “developed countries have historically contributed more to the problem by emitting larger amounts of greenhouse gases per person than in developing countries.”
The United States contends that not requiring rapidly developing countries like China and India to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions will put us at an economic disadvantage.
Future of the Kyoto Protocol
The Bali climate change conference ended in the adoption of the Bali roadmap, which outlines what is going to happen when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Because we are in an election year, the forecast really looks beyond our current president. With a new Administration and new pressure to address the issue of climate change, a change in Washington will be eminent. However, it remains to be seen if Congress will go along with this change.
However, many states are not waiting for the federal government to act. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 32, a bill that aims to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. Actions at the city, state, and regional level from both private and public sector show an effort to address climate change, regardless of our inaction in the international setting (see, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, States Taking a Stand).
