Examination of the United States Position on the Kyoto Treaty essays

Examination of the United States Position on the Kyoto Treaty essays According to an article found in the journal, Harvard International Review, in 1997 one-hundred sixty nations from around the world met in Kyoto Japan to discuss global climate change and to implement a strategy for correcting the problem (Zepeda, 2004). As a result of this meeting the Kyoto Protocol was created. This protocol is actually a treaty that has since been successfully implemented (Zepeda, 2004). The treaty or protocol was designed to obligate the countries that sign the treaty to revert back to the Green House Gas (GHG) emissions standards of 1990 by the year 2012. In addition, the treaty required that 55 or more nations that compose 55% of worldwide GHG emissions to sign the treaty in order for the treaty to be effective (Zepeda, 2004). Schreurs (2002) asserts that at the time of the 1997 meeting there were great expectations for the development of an international treaty that would address the issue of global warning. The international community was also anticipating the support and participation of the United States. This anticipation existed because President Clinton and in particular Vice President Al Gore were known for their environmentally friendly beliefs and initiatives (Schreurs, 2000). Indeed at the time Gore was the greenest politician to be member of the White House in many years (Schreurs, 2000). In addition environmentalists had great expectations and there was also a great deal of fear among industry was also real (Schreurs, 2000). In addition there were indications that the Clinton administration would shift US positions on important global environmental issues. For instance, Clinton signed the Biodiversity Convention during his first Earth Day as president. In addition Clinton posited that the United States would voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2000 even though the administration initially remained opposed to legally binding targets and timetables (Schreurs, 2...