Thursday, October 22, 2009

A Tale of Two Protocols | Counter Punch

An analysis of the effectiveness of the Kyoto and Montreal protocols:

"So far, emission cuts under Kyoto have been well short of the target. Some climate change experts and thinkers, say Kyoto is clearly a failure. ... The Kyoto Protocol covers a basket of 12 gases, and only deals with emissions of the total basket, not individual substances. It also does not deal with reducing consumption. ... The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, has specific control measures for phasing out the use of specific ozone depleting gases. ... The Montreal Protocol is the only international environmental treaty to which every single country on the planet has signed up. It is also arguably the most successful international environment treaty ever"

1 comment:

  1. Part of the reason that the Montreal Protocol was so successful was because the same chemical companies that manufactured the banned CFC's were also the manufacturers of the various replacement chemicals. So, rather than facing a financial loss, they benefited from the protocol because it created a new (and lucrative) market for HCFC's.

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