Global Response

With problems resulting from oil, resulting oil emissions and their contribution to global warming estimated to cost tens of trillions of dollars over the course of this century, working to curb greenhouse gas emissions is imperative. In the U.S. alone, the minimum annual total of Environmental, Health, and Social Costs (in 1997 dollars) associated with oil is $231.7 billion. The high estimate? $942.9 billion.

There has been a worldwide effort to cut emissions, most notably in the form of the Kyoto Treaty.

Kyoto Treaty
The Kyoto Treaty is an agreement was made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Countries that ratified the protocol commit to reducing their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions. As of July 2006, 164 countries have ratified the agreement. The notable exceptions include the United States and Australia.

  • The United States did not adopt the treaty in 2005 arguing that the quotas were unreasonable. George W. Bush believes that the treaty would put tremendous strain on the U.S. economy.
  • While the U.S. has not signed Kyoto, nine northeastern states and California, along with 187 mayors from U.S. towns and cities across the country have pledged to adopt Kyoto-style legal limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate
The Asia Pacific Partnership was introduced by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 2005 as an alternative to the Kyoto Treaty. The partnership is made up of Australia, the People’s Republic of China, India, Japan, South Korea and the U.S. The pact allows these countries to set their own goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions individually, but with no enforcement mechanism. It has often been criticized for being an ineffective emission-reduction program.

Clearly, curbing greenhouse gas emissions and becoming independent from oil required a global effort. It also requires conscience decisions to be made at the individual level. Each and every one of us has to decide to declare our independence from oil, and change our behavior.

What can you do to stop global warming? Here are some ideas.