Re/Action on Climate Protection

Kyoto - What is it? Part II

The Kyoto Protocol set up three separate categories for emissions reduction mechanisms. These mechanisms involve interactions between "Annex I & II Parties" and "non-Annex I Parties". For this discussion, "Annex I" and "Annex II" countries are the "developed nations" or nations with economies in transition (EIT) and the "non-Annex I Parties" are the so-called LDC's or Less Developed Countries. There are criteria for defining which group a country falls into that won't be discussed here. The United States is an Annex I and Annex II country, and has ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is a Kyoto Protocol Annex B country, but has not ratified Kyoto. Therefore, the US is not a "party" (to the Kyoto Protocol). The US does have committments under the UNFCCC which will be discussed in another post.

The three mechanisms for reducing GHG emissions defined in the Kyoto Protocol, and refined in the Marrakesh Accords are: 1) the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM); 2) Joint Implementation (JI); 3) Emissions trading. All of these mechanisms involve the creation and transfer of certified emissions reduction (CER) which is an actual, measured reduction of one tonne of CO2.

Action on Climate Protection

Hello, Climate Protection Campaign is launching our blog. This blog is intended to stimulate discussion about what can be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We are currently working on projects at the local level, but we advocate action at all levels: local, state, federal and international.

What we want to do in this blog is to discuss solutions. We want to know what is working elsewhere in the world...and we want to share our experiences with what is working here in Sonoma County.

Although we will post articles on science and links to basic climate science, our aim is not primarily to discuss the science of global warming and climate change. We are not climate scientists, but we view the science of global warming as basically settled. We have adopted and endorse the findings of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which are that:

• The planet is warming
• Most of the warming in the past 100 years is caused by humans (anthropogenic)
• The human activities most responsible for warming are emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and deforestation.
• Emissions of GHGs that are causing global warming are primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels.
• Significant reduction in GHG emissions is necessary to prevent dangerous changes to the global climate.

In addition to the findings of the IPCC, our view is that meaningful reductions must be accomplished as quickly as possible in order to stabilize the level of atmospheric CO2 as low as possible.

We are looking forward to engaging in discussion with you about how to solve the climate crisis.