The Kyoto Protocol
In 1992, Rio Earth Summit established an international agreement on climate change with
addition of the formation of UNFCCC which is effective till to date. Kyoto Protocol was
negotiated under the umbrella of UNFCCC by binding the states to work together to establish
pollution free environment for the mankind. Kyoto Protocol, the first legal binding global
agreement on the climate security, negotiated in 1997 bound the industrialized countries to
reduce the greenhouse gas emission by the period of 2012. Trans-boundary nature of the global
warming and air pollution commended the states to establish international agreement on climate
change effectively. With more than 190 countries, the KP was truly seeking collective action. To
facilitate cooperation among the countries, the protocol offered mechanisms such as the
International Emission trading (IET), the Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development
Mechanisms (CDM) through which the countries can achieve their targets jointly or separately.
The Kyoto Protocol assigned the developed states to cut their greenhouse gas emission by an
average of 5.2% by a year of 2012. The accord mandated the industrialized countries have the
major responsibility of the climate crisis preceded with the glory of industrial revolution. The
Kyoto Protocol categorized the countries into two separate wings, annex-1 identified the
developed industrialized states that had liability to cut down the greenhouse gas emission and
annex-2 was referred to the developing states that had function to investigate the projects
designed to lower the carbon emission in their states. “United Nations has faced many challenges
while fighting with the climate crisis issue on governance level. The governance problem is huge
and will remain so in the foreseeable future as large developing countries such as Brazil, China
and India have little incentive to help solve a problem that they themselves did not create. On the
other hand, in the reign of Jr. Bush the Americans withdrew from this agreement, by taking into
account the negative impact on the country’s economy. At the end of the first round of the
agreement, the Doha Amendments were initiated in 2012. This amendment mandated new targets
and goals to cut down the greenhouse gas emission by 2020 for the participating countries.
Kyoto Protocol has faced many challenges while fighting with the climate crisis issue on
governance level. The governance problem is huge and will remain so in the foreseeable future
as large developing countries such as Brazil, China and India have little incentive to help solve a
problem that they themselves did not create. In 2015, the Kyoto Protocol was replaced by the
approval of Paris Agreement, a remarkable milestone for the protection of the natural
environment.
The Paris Agreement
The focal reasons of the importance of Paris Agreement is as under
1. Countries agreed that human-generated emission of gases by is the major cause of global
warming
2. The countries perceived the global warming as lurk to the global security
3. Changing weather pattern by the global warming jeopardizes the human health too
In the meeting of COP21, conducted by the UNFCCC at Paris, a major breakthrough was
observed in the form of Paris Agreement, officially known as Paris Climate Agreement. The
accord was adopted by 196 member countries of the United Nations, agreed on the economic and
social transformation policies to save the world to climate crisis. Paris Agreement involved the
states in the transition period of launching nation climate actions plans, known as Nationally
Determined Contributors (NDCs). Through NDCs states are bound to submit the report and
strategies to reduce the effect of greenhouse gas emission by 2020. The Paris Agreement is of
great worth because it provides not only financial and technical support to the states that in dire
need of help, but offers capacity building support too.
In 2015, under the shelter of the United Nations the international community joined their hands
together by agreeing on the three projects of climate change, Paris Agreement, Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Agenda of Sustainable Development, 2030.
The crisis of climate change has evolved as an impending and imminent global crisis imposing
threats to the global security of the world. In this havoc situation, it is the call of the need to
prioritize the climate related issues. Since 2015, the peer-reviewed research articles and
individual research work has extended swiftly after the Paris Agreement. This is the
acknowledgment of the severity of the environmental related issues that has aptitude to affect the
peace, security and stability of the countries by distressing inter-governmental relations. For
example, environmental crisis directly linked with the disturbance of economic situation. Many
under developed countries have their economic dependency on agriculture sector. Scarcity of
water, shortage of rainfall carried out the droughts and famines in the region causing increase in
unemployment and inflation. The member states of African continent are the example, where at
first political unrest and civil tensions take place and later convert into threat for global security.
European Union at the regional level is the major supporter of 2oC temperature goal suggested
by the Paris Agreement, and reshaping the energy policies in connection with the target. All the
other developed states must take it into consideration by implementing the UNFCCC. NGOs for
climate protection and international organizations should fulfill their responsibilities by forcing
governments to actively contribute to protect the climate.
