Rudd’s rapid ratification of the Kyoto Protocol

Submitted by: Natasha Chow | 6 comments VIEW COMMENTS

Photographer : Pierre Marcel

Like many federal election issues during November 2007, the topic of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol was used as a political tactic to lure undecided voters. Politicising Kyoto, however, ignored the heart of what it actually is—a genuine international agreement to reduce climate change.

Under the Howard Government Australia was known as the renegade country which refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Together with the United States, Australia presented itself as un-cooperative and extremely stubborn.

Newly elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has finally given the Kyoto Protocol the recognition and attention it deserves, with Australia fast-tracking the ratification process. Not only was ratifying Kyoto a step in the right direction, it signals to the international community that Australia is committed to working together to reduce global carbon emissions.

What is the Kyoto Protocol?

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and became international law in 2005. There are 176 countries that have ratified Kyoto.

Kyoto binds developed countries to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions. Developing nations were excluded from the first round of targets since developed nations can more easily afford the cost of reducing emissions. They also generally produce more greenhouse gas emissions per person than developing nations.

The targets for each nation must be met between 2008 and 2012, where the total levels of emissions during this period should not exceed 5 per cent against the baseline of 1990. Australia is an exception to this, due to negotiations based on our dependence on coal-fired electricity and the considerable cost of reducing carbon emissions. Australia’s target is an 8 per cent increase from 1990 levels.

Australia’s love/hate relationship with Kyoto

Australia signed Kyoto in 1998 but until recently we have only flirted with the idea of actually ratifying it. This was despite the fact that many Australians overwhelmingly supported the Kyoto Protocol. In an October poll run by The Age newspaper, 88 per cent of respondents believed that the Howard Government should have reversed its position on Kyoto.

The Howard Government believed that Kyoto did not establish a long-term strategy towards tackling climate change and would be expensive to commit to. Former PM John Howard argued that a central flaw of Kyoto was that developing nations were not required to adopt binding targets. The exclusion of developing countries, like India and China, combined with the United States refusal to support Kyoto meant that the world’s greatest carbon sinners were not bound to meeting targets.

However, the results of the federal election showed that Australians were deadly serious in their attitude towards Kyoto. A pre-election poll showed that among 2000 voters, 84 per cent believed that a change in government would help combat climate change.

Moving towards global cooperation

The ratification of Kyoto was predominantly a symbolic step. Whilst climate change may not ‘make the world end tomorrow’, as our former PM believed, it certainly is not a problem solved overnight. Ratification was the first formal step in global cooperation to reduce carbon emissions.

PM Rudd’s decisive move to uphold his election promise has been welcomed by climate change lobby groups. Greenpeace political director, Shane Rattenburg believed that under the Howard Government Australia played a ‘wrecking role’ at the annual UNFCCC negotiations, such as demanding concessions and striving to unpick deals.

With Rudd attending the next round of UN talks on a ‘roadmap’ for the Kyoto Protocol after 2012, Australia may have a new positive role in building future climate change goals.

In the Asia-Pacific community, Australia has the potential to be a strong leader in Kyoto negotiations. News on Australia’s change of heart has been viewed as a welcome change in the eyes of our closest neighbours. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has formally invited Rudd to attend the UNFCCC talks in Bali and believes that Australia’s presences builds ‘greater momentum’ to the conference.

However Australia also faces challenges in how to set ‘clear cut commitments’ on developing countries. There are few serious plans to set targets on emerging emitters like China, India and Brazil, despite the urgency of the problem.

Dr Peter Christoff, Vice President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, suggests that an international fund for investment in renewable energy and efficiency measures in China, India and Brazil would offer an incentive and means for action. This would also enhance the likelihood of voluntary targets being met.

Another method proposed by Christoff is to introduce a regional pact linked to Kyoto. By including developed countries (Australia, New Zealand) and developing states (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and near Pacific states), it would cover about 12 per cent of the world's greenhouse emissions. This could strengthen regional environmental security and economic relations while addressing climate change at the same time.

Beyond Kyoto

The ratification of Kyoto may not be the be all and end all of possible solutions to climate change. Already some countries have experienced difficulty in reaching their targets. Recently released United Nations figures show greenhouse gases from 41 countries had risen dramatically. Emissions fell between 1990 and 2000 but they rose 2.6 per cent between 2000 and 2005.

Australia’s carbon emissions in 2005 were about 25.6 per cent above 1990 levels, although this falls to a rise of 4.5 per cent when the effect of bans on land-clearing is included. Australia is on its way to meeting its target by 2012. Yet ratification now requires new policies in energy consumption and carbon emissions trading—or Australia risks breaching Kyoto.

According to a United Nations report, Australia is ranked third in per capita emissions behind the US and Canada. If the rest of the world emitted carbon gases at the same per person rate as Australia, its population would need seven planets to sustain the pollution. Signing Kyoto represents a crucial shift in Australia’s war on climate change. Now is the time to make sure that this symbolic move becomes a reality through nation-wide policies and clear-cut emissions targets.

How do I know this?

The Age Online Polls 2007, http://www.theage.com.au/polls/national/results.html

‘Aspirations in the air’, The Australian, 31 October 2007, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22675930-28737,00.html?from=public_rss

‘Australia risks breaching Kyoto’, AFP Newswire, 29 November 2007, http://afp.google.com/article/
ALeqM5jEPB9chfkIFwrgkPGSiM5_HJ7PGA

‘Brown looking forward to working with Rudd’, AAP newswire, 29 November 2007, http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22840644-1702,00.html

Christoff, P 2007, The challenge to go from climate laggard to climate leader, 27 November, http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/the-challenge-to-go-from-climate-laggard-to-climate-leader/2007/11/26/1196036808894.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Kyoto Protocol, United Nations Framework on Climate Change, http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

Morton, A 2007, ‘Australia third worst of world's polluters: UN’, The Age,November 28, http://www.theage.com.au/news/climate-watch/australia-third-worst-polluters-un/2007/11/27/1196036890947.html

Rajah, D 2007, ‘PM hails Rudd, hopes for stronger ties with Australia’, The Star (Malaysia), November 26, 2007, http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/11/26/nation/19574378&sec=nation

Senate Inquiry into the Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, 4 March 2004, http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/ecita_ctte/
completed_inquiries/2002-04/kyoto/

Squires , N 2007 ‘Signing Kyoto—the easy bit for Kevin Rudd’, The Telegraph, 27 November, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/27/easquires127.xml

Topsfield, J 2007 ‘Seat at Bali table possible in absence of Kyoto ratification’, The Age, November 28, http://www.theage.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/seat-at-bali-table-possible-in-absence-of-kyoto-ratification/2007/11/27/1196036889876.html

Turnbull wants to ratify Kyoto, ABC News Online, 28 October 2007, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/27/2072146.htm

Williams, P and Peters, D 2007, ‘Rudd faces uphill battle to ratify Kyoto’, The Australian, 27 November, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22830812-12377,00.html

‘World won't end tomorrow due to climate change, says Howard’, AAP Newswire, 18 November 2007, http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22778836-1702,00.html

‘Yudhoyono invites Rudd to Bali talks’, The Age, 25 November 2007, http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Yudhoyono-invites-Rudd-to-Bali-talks/2007/11/25/1195962824655.html

5 comments

Rach 11-Jan-2008

Heya Nwokiller,
I can see the article mentioning voluntary taxing of surplus children, but I can't see how this is part of eugenics, in the context of culling a certain group of people? The article you mention states no country or people to set this voluntary one-child policy, but that all countries should be aware of it: "As citizens of the world, I believe we deserve no more population concessions than those in India or China."

Can you help me out with where you see the link between not overpopulating the resources on the planet with environmentalists culling people?
Or is my definition a little incorrect?
:)
Rach.

NWOKILLER 10-Jan-2008

"De-Facto One Child Policy Urged in Australia"
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22899785-2,00.html

This is the environmental movements' Eugenics plans. It's exactly how China put their one child policy into place, by taxing the family unit.

Rita 19-Dec-2007

There will be change. The ratification of the Kyoto Protocol is a huge start. Why didn’t this happen earlier?

It is important to realise that Australia’s new movement alone; to get involved and help combat climate change by ratifying Kyoto is not enough. Climate change is not just an Australian thing. It’s global. As some of the world’s greatest emitters of greenhouse gases are from nations such as China and India, the establishment of an international fund for investment in renewable energy in these nations – as proposed by Christoff, is an idea that Australia might want to take part in in the future.

funnelweb 18-Dec-2007

"Australia is the 3rd largest gas emitter". What kind of gas? Is this from cattle grazing or the fact that we have more cars on the road per capita because state governments fail in their responsibility to provide reliable public transport? Or do you refer to our overuse of coal?

Kyoto on its own is nothing. As a global community we need to understand what it means and urgently act to conserve our environment and natural resources. Kyoto sets targets intended to reduce carbon dioxide output into the atmosphere. So why not nuclear power instead of carbon power? Why not increase the tax on petrol to reinvest into alternative fuels or encourage people to take a bike to work? We're building expensive polluting desal plants all over the country because we don't have enough water. But we won't expand the catchment area or recycle water. Desal plants use a great amount of energy. We need to start small like don't turn on every light in the house and use energy saving globes. Then think big to a carbon emissions trading scheme and develop international solutions to renewable energies that won't cost the earth.

adrienne 17-Dec-2007

Although, there has been a huge debate on Australia's stance on the Kyoto Protocol it is inevitable that by Australia ratifying the treaty, it will have a positive impact on the global environment. Australia is the 3rd largest gas emitter and in order for world cohesion and prosperity they must reassess their contributions to the global environment in order to make our world a more healthier place!