Climate Change & Global Warming
Day by day the cycle of climate on earth is changing. Rapid economic development and incessant tapping of natural resources have posed severe problems for the life system on our planet. Mankind now confronts by far the biggest environmental challenge in the form of Global Warming: the gradual increase in the Earth’s temperature, which brings about noticable change in the climatic condition.
Global Warming has led to season shifting, changing landscapes, rising sea levels, increased risk of drought and floods, stronger storms , increase in heat related illness and diseases all over the world. Across the world, there is growing concern about global warming and its impact on the earth’s ecosystem. Carbon dioxide levels are at their highest since the industrial revolution and are continuously rising. Today, most scientists agree that global warming in the last few decades has primarily been caused due to human activities which have increased the release of Greenhouse Gases in the atmosphere, deforestation, urbanization etc.
Kyoto Protocol-An Initiative against Climate Change
The European nations have been the vanguard of combating climatic change internationally. They have played a key role in developing two major treaties for addressing issues affecting climate change i.e. The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCO) and its Kyoto Protocol(Protocol), which was accepted by several developing and developed countries in 1997.The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement which lays down targets for industrial countries to cut their Greenhouse Gas emissions which include Carbon Dioxide (CO2) , Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Hydro-Fluorocarbons (HFCs), Per-Fluorocarbons (PFCs) and Sulphur-Hexafluoride (SF6). Protocol commits countries to reduce their GHG emissions to an appropriate average of 5.2% below the 1990 emission levels over the period 2008-2012.Under The Kyoto Protocol, over 150 countries have agreed to strive to decrease CO2 emissions accounting for an estimated 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The increasing need for energy is the single biggest challenge to slowing climate change.
Clean Development Mechanism(CDM)-An arrangement under Kyoto Protocol
Addressing Climate Change is not a simple task. To protect ourselves, our economy and our land from the adverse affects of climate change, there is an urgent need to reduce emissions of Carbon Dioxide and other Greenhouse gases. To achieve this goal, the concept of Clean Development Mechanism has come into vogue. The objective of CDM is the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Under CDM, a developed country can take up greenhouse gas reduction project activity in a developing country where the cost of GHG reduction project activities is usually much lower. The developed country would be given credits (Carbon Credits) for meeting its emission reduction targets, while the developing country would receive the capital and clean technology to implement the project.
Carbon Emission Trading
Carbon Credit is a concept that incentivizes countries which reduce their GHG emissions and disincentivises the ones which do not reduce their GHG emissions. This concept promotes the generation of credits by companies in developing countries who reduce their GHG emissions by shifting to cleaner technologies. Under the Protocol, each company that shifts to cleaner technologies obtains to its account, one credit per tonne of CO2 emission reduction. This credit that the Company obtains is called carbon credit, which is a right to emit one tone of CO2.The Protocol imposes target commitments upon countries, which in turn, set emission quota on companies in their country, in order to fulfill their quota. Companies whose emissions are above their permitted quota buy Carbon Credits from companies that have excess credits to their account. Allowing such credits to be bought and sold makes it possible for businesses to achieve their target commitments since reducing their own emissions may either be too expensive or prohibitive for such companies. For each tone of CO2 avoided, the Company receives a carbon emission certificate which can be sold either immediately or through the future market, just like any other commodity.
Carbon Emission Trading
Carbon Credit is a concept that incentivizes countries which reduce their GHG emissions and disincentivises the ones which do not reduce their GHG emissions. This concept promotes the generation of credits by companies in developing countries who reduce their GHG emissions by shifting to cleaner technologies. Under the Protocol, each company that shifts to cleaner technologies obtains to its account, one credit per tonne of CO2 emission reduction. This credit that the Company obtains is called carbon credit, which is a right to emit one tone of CO2.The Protocol imposes target commitments upon countries, which in turn, set emission quota on companies in their country, in order to fulfill their quota. Companies whose emissions are above their permitted quota buy Carbon Credits from companies that have excess credits to their account. Allowing such credits to be bought and sold makes it possible for businesses to achieve their target commitments since reducing their own emissions may either be too expensive or prohibitive for such companies. For each tone of CO2 avoided, the Company receives a carbon emission certificate which can be sold either immediately or through the future market, just like any other commodity.
Carbon Emission Trading
Carbon Credit is a concept that incentivizes countries which reduce their GHG emissions and disincentivises the ones which do not reduce their GHG emissions. This concept promotes the generation of credits by companies in developing countries who reduce their GHG emissions by shifting to cleaner technologies. Under the Protocol, each company that shifts to cleaner technologies obtains to its account, one credit per tonne of CO2 emission reduction. This credit that the Company obtains is called carbon credit, which is a right to emit one tone of CO2.The Protocol imposes target commitments upon countries, which in turn, set emission quota on companies in their country, in order to fulfill their quota. Companies whose emissions are above their permitted quota buy Carbon Credits from companies that have excess credits to their account. Allowing such credits to be bought and sold makes it possible for businesses to achieve their target commitments since reducing their own emissions may either be too expensive or prohibitive for such companies. For each tone of CO2 avoided, the Company receives a carbon emission certificate which can be sold either immediately or through the future market, just like any other commodity.asas
