The European Union ratifies the Kyoto Protocol
By Honor Mahony
The EU ratified the Kyoto protocol on climate change on Friday. With the handing up of its ratification papers to the UN headquarters in New York, the EU has fulfilled its ambition to have the Kyoto protocol enter into force before the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in at the end of August. It is also hoping that the simultaneous ratification by the EU and its member states, which has bought the total up to 70 countries, will exert political pressure on yet more countries to ratify the treaty. The protocol will commit its EU signatories to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 8% from 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
The President of the Council of EU Ministers of Environment, Jaume Matas, noted that the action was “the expression of the conviction of the millions of citizens of the European Union that the Kyoto Protocol is the best instrument available for working together to achieve our common goal.” The environment Commissioner, Margot Wallström, who campaigned strongly for the Protocol when it looked like it might fail after the US abandoned it earlier this year, said “this is an historic moment for global efforts to combat change climate change. Following today’s ratification, the countries responsible for an important share of the industrialised world’s emissions in 1990 are legally committed to the global framework to address climate change.”
Still long way from reaching 55% emission’s threshold
Join EUobserver today
Get the EU news that really matters
Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.
Choose your plan
... or subscribe as a group
Already a member?
However although one milestone has been reached in that the required 55 nations have ratified the treaty, the second, and more important milestone is still far from being reached. The Protocol, in order to enter into force, requires also that the nations that have signed up account for 55% of the industrialised countries’ emissions in 1990. The seventy countries, who have now ratified the treaty account only for 26.6% of 1990 emission’s levels.
In order to reach the 55% threshold, the United States, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases would need to ratify the treaty also. However, American President George Bush arguing that it would damage US business said on 14 February that the US would not sign the Kyoto protocol. Instead he announced a domestic climate change policy based on voluntary commitments by US companies. This has been widely denounced by environment groups who say it will lead to an increase of 30% in emissions above 1990 levels.
The EU is instead hoping for a ratification of the treaty by the Accession Countries, EEA and EFTA countries, Russia, Japan and New Zealand to enable achievement of the 55% threshold.