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The United States does not
support the Kyoto Treaty and the Senate did not ratify it when it
was brought before them to be reviewed.
The Senate did approve a resolution in September 1997 by a
95-0 vote that listed the minimum requirements that would result in
the Senate ratifying the treaty. Those requirements have not been met which means that
non-ratification by the United States excludes them from being a
part of an international treaty to fight against global warming. Although the United States has been criticized for not
ratifying the Kyoto Treaty, it is not without serious concerns and
problems that President Bush and the Senate see in the Kyoto Treaty.
President Bush has been quoted as saying that the Kyoto
Treaty is “fatally flawed in fundamental ways” (“Bush
Discusses”). The
treaty also poses domestic concerns that President Bush continues to
stress.
One of the main reasons as to why the United States has not
ratified the treaty is because there is a lack of participation in
the developing world. The
United States is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases but
developing countries, which are quickly increasing their burning of
fossil fuels for energy, are predicted to surpass the amount of
greenhouse emissions released by the United States. China, Brazil, and India are expected to surpass the United
States emissions within 25 to 30 years.
The way that the treaty is designed, fourteen out of twenty
of the top emitting countries would not have to limit their
emissions. By not
requiring these countries to reduce their emissions, it would damage
any attempts by other countries to reduce their emissions (Mathews
215-216).
Economic concerns have also played an important role in the
United States non-ratification of the treaty.
Some people believe that signing the treaty will have no
economic impact on American jobs and cost of living and others think
that it will hurt Americans economically.
Another concern is that if only industrialized countries are
made to reduce their emissions, companies will close their
businesses in the United States and other industrialized nations and
more to developing countries where there are no limits.
This would result in job losses throughout the United States
and other developed countries (Mathews 222).
Many countries, including the United States, believe that the
emissions targets set forth by the treaty cannot be reached by many
countries because carbon dioxide emissions are increasing.
Another problem is that even if greenhouse gas emission
reductions are met, they are thought to be ineffective in slowing
the process of global warming.
Some scientists have estimated that in order for the
atmosphere to catch up with the greenhouse gases that have been and
are being admitted into the air, then a 60 percent reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions needs to be met.
The treaty only calls for an average of 5.2 percent
reductions.
Other areas of concern deal with scientific problems and
flaws contained within the Kyoto Treaty.
Some scientists say that global warming does not exist and
others say that it is and it will have tremendous impacts on the
Earth. Some scientists
think that the evidence of the increased temperature on the
Earth’s surface is not a result
of global warming and is just an increase in temperature because of
weather patterns. Others
point to the fact that the Earth’s temperature over the last
twelve years has been the hottest the Earth has ever been and it is
a direct cause of human activities that emit greenhouse gases
(Mathews 200).
Another scientific problem is that the Kyoto Protocol was
based on percentages of greenhouse gases that might not have been
taken accurately. The
most data that was kept on any of the greenhouse gases was carbon
dioxide and is considered fairly reliable while data on the other
main greenhouse gases are not well kept.
People argue that the treaty is based on numbers and
percentages that could be wrong (Mathews 201-202). |