Kyoto Protocol Implementation probably Delayed To 2010

The Sixth Conference of Parties related to the Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 to protect the earth for the greenhouse effect opened in Bonn, Germany, July 16.

The conference will continue until July 27 with the participation of about 100 representatives from the world. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was established to prevent the greenhouse effect by controlling the gas emission in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol is the subsequent detail master plan of the Framework. The conference is especially noteworthy in that it is the first meeting after the U.S. Bush administration had disapproved some articles of the Kyoto Protocol in March this year. However, the disagreement between the U.S. and the EU, who strongly support the Kyoto Protocol, was not resolved at this conference.

U.S. delegate Paula Dobriansky, the deputy secretary of State, remarked before the conference that ``the U.S. will actively participate in the discussion but has no plan to provide an alternative plan.`` Last month, the U.S. promised to propose a new framework at this conference.

Japan is juggling between the U.S. and the EU. Koizumi Junichiro Japan`s Prime Minister said, ``[Japan] will decide whether to approve after trying for the cooperation of the U.S. and the EU until the Seventh Conference in Madagascar, October.``

The EU was planning to make effective the Protocol with the help of Australia and Russia excluding the U.S. However, the EU has been troubled by the ambiguous Japanese position and probably changes its tactic at this conference. The implementation of the Kyoto Protocol would be disabled without the participation of the U.S. and Japan, who make up the 23.4 percent and 5.2 percent respectively out of the total CO2 emission on earth. Jan Pronk, the Dutch Environment Minister and the Chairperson of this conference, revealed last month that ``the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol may be delayed from 2008 to 2010.``

By the current Protocol, the U.S. must reduce its greenhouse-gas emission by 7 percent by 2012. At the consultative meeting of the Kyoto Protocol last month, the U.S. asserted the reduction assignment to each EU member country, the exclusion of the developing countries from the executive organizations, the alleviation of the penalties, and the re-consideration of the subsidy to the developing countries. In addition, the U.S. questioned the exemption of the developing countries, such as Korea and Mexico, from the reduction responsibility of the greenhouse-gas emission.

However, with such pretexts, the U.S. opposes the Kyoto Protocol for the benefit of the U.S. business, which would undergo the tremendous expenditure for the reduction of the greenhouse-gas emission.

Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, U.S. President Bush is to oppose against the `environment recommendation,` which will be submitted to the G-8 summit talks in Italy, July 20. The Recommendation includes the gradual reduction of the subsidies to the fossil fuels, the increasing of the financial support to the re-cycling energy sources. The G-8 will not be able to approve the recommendation if the U.S. opposes against it.

Lee Jong-Hoon taylor55@donga.com