The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in 1997 as a first substantial step in addressing the problem of global climate change. The agreement established greenhouse gas emissions targets for industrialized countries for the 2008-2012 period. Despite this initial effort, many obstacles continue to stand in the way of effective mitigation of global climate change. First, neither the Framework Conventio...

It may not be a household word, but by now the Kyoto Protocol has become a well-known political slogan. President Bush has called it fundamentally flawed, while some environmentalists in America and Europe have said it is essential for saving the Earth’s climate and the future of humanity itself. Many on the right have called it economic madness, while for many on the left it is an ecological a...

The Kyoto Protocol sets the carbon emission targets for 2008-2012 for the major emitting countries. Several former Soviet countries have emissions quotas that appear to be in excess of their anticipated emissions as a result of economic downturn. This excess is sometimes referred to as ”hot air”, and could, in principle, be traded with other countries. The “hot air” estimates range from 150 to ...

A range of energy-economy models forecast losses to members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should the Kyoto Protocol come into force. These forecasts are a powerful influence in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations. They are used by OPEC to advance the agenda on the impacts of response measures, covertly arguing for compensation for...

Under the Kyoto Protocol, the world’s wealthier countries assumed binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement requires these countries to consider ways to minimize adverse effects on developing countries of these actions, transmitted through trade. Using a general equilibrium model of the world economy, we find that adverse effects fall mainly on energy-exporting count...

With the gap between developed and developing nations remaining unclosed, post-Kyoto Protocol negotiations have run into rough waters: Developing countries insist that developed countries be committed to more ambitious targets for the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol and provide large amounts of financial or technological assistance to developing countries, while developed countries propose t...