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| Kyoto in Wexford |
Global Warming & Climate Change |
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What is the Kyoto Protocol? |
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What does the Kyoto Protocol mean to Ireland? |
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What needs to be done in County Wexford to meet our Kyoto Targets? |
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| Global Warming & Climate Change |
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The Industrial Revolution has changed forever the relationship between humanity and nature. Huge quantities of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have been , and are continuing to be, released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, industrial processes and intensive agricultural practices. The most significant GHG is carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), next is methane (CH 4 ), then nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and finally the fluoro-carbons (PFCs, HFCs and SF 6 ). The emission of GHGs is changing the way energy from the sun interacts with and escapes from our planet's atmosphere and threatens the stability of our climate. |
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| There is real concern that by the middle or the end of the 21 st century human activities will have changed the basic conditions that have allowed life to thrive on earth. Among the expected consequences are an increase in the average temperature of the earth's surface and shifts in world-wide weather patterns. Other unforeseen effects cannot be ruled out. |
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| Just how this would affect us is hard to predict because the global climate is a very complicated system. If one key aspect – such as the average global temperature – is altered, the consequences spread outward affecting other elements. For example, wind and rainfall patterns that have prevailed for hundreds or thousands of years, and on which millions of people depend may change. |
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| Sea-levels may rise and threaten islands and low-lying coastal areas. In a world that is increasingly crowded and under stress – a world that has enough problems already – these extra pressures could lead directly to more famines, droughts and other catastrophes. |
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What is the Kyoto Protocol? |
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In 1992 the United Nations (UN) held a Framework for Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) at the Rio Earth Summit. The Convention took the significant step of recognising that there is a GHG emissions problem and that global warming is a real threat to our world. Within two years 185 states ratified the Climate Change Treaty, which took effect on 21 st March 1994. |
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| The Convention sets an ‘ultimate objective' of stabilising ‘greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the climate system'. The objective does not specify what these concentrations should be, only that they be at a level that is not dangerous. Thus the uncertainty of climate change is acknowledged but the Convention's objective remains meaningful no matter how the science evolves. |
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| While the UNFCCC encouraged developed countries to stabilise emissions it did not set exact targets and was considered too flexible and undefined to initiate real change. In 1997, governments responded to growing public pressure by adopting the Kyoto Protocol. A protocol is an international agreement that stands on its own but is linked to an existing treaty. This means that the climate Protocol shares the concerns and principles set out in the climate Convention. |
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| It then builds on these by adding new commitments which are stronger and far more complex and detailed than those in the Convention. The Protocol commits the agreed nations to reducing their collective emissions by at least 5%. Each country's emissions levels will be calculated as an average of the years 2008 – 2012; these five years are known as the first commitment period. Governments must make ‘demonstrable progress' towards this goal by the year 2005. |
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What does the Kyoto Protocol mean to Ireland? |
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According to the Kyoto Protocol Ireland must limit its GHG emissions to no more than 13% above 1990 levels, a target already exceeded in 2000. On the basis of current estimates Ireland will be required to reduce GHG emissions by 7 million tonnes of CO 2 equivalent during the commitment period 2008 – 2012. Ireland's exceptionally rapid growth in recent times has seen a corresponding increase in energy consumption and associated GHG emissions. If future growth is to be successfully managed it will be vital to develop policies and measures that have a sound economic footing and effectively meet our international obligations to reduce GHG production. |
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| The Kyoto Protocol itself has three mechanisms to reduce and restrict GHG emissions. These are joint implementation , the clean development mechanism (CDM) and emissions trading . These aim to maximise the cost-effectiveness of climate change mitigation by allowing Parties to pursue opportunities to cut emissions, or enhance carbon sinks, more cheaply abroad than at home. However, Ireland needs to do more than just implement these Kyoto mechanisms. The Irish government has the responsibility to adopt international global warming policies and formulate national strategies, such as the Green Paper on Sustainable Energy. |
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| These national strategies must be implemented and adhered to by regional authorities, industry and the general public. For example, the local authority must implement waste management strategies aimed at reducing the volumes of waste going to landfill or regional policies on public transport aimed at reducing private vehicle use. Industry must conform to regulations on emissions and adopt new technologies in an effort to curb GHG emissions. For instance, the building industry must adhere to the building regulations on energy use in new constructions. The general public must play their part to aid the implementation of regional policies. For example, people should increase their recycling to aid waste management strategies and make use of public transport systems |
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| What needs to be done in County Wexford to meet our Kyoto Targets? |
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So what measures and strategies need to be implemented in County Wexford to reduce and control GHG emissions? Well any existing and future activities that produce GHGs must be examined and GHG abatement methods identified and applied. Thus, the scope of global warming and Kyoto target policies is extremely broad and far reaching. |
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| The biggest single GHG emitting activity is the burning of fossil fuels, which accounts for about 80% of our carbon dioxide emissions, one fifth of the methane and a significant quantity of nitrous oxide. Therefore, the energy sector (both production and consumption), transport and industry must be managed in such a way as to reduce the amount of GHGs they emit. The second largest GHG emitting activity relates to changes in land use and agriculture. Deforestation is the second largest carbon dioxide emitting activity, while intensive animal farming produces large quantities of methane and fertiliser use increases nitrous oxide emissions. |
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| Waste disposal also contributes to GHG emissions as landfill gases are largely composed of methane. Therefore, the agriculture, forestry and waste sectors also require policies that will reduce their associated GHG emissions. The implementation of such policies and procedures will require the efforts of all in government and local authorities, through to industry and commerce, and right down to every citizen, as we are all energy consumers. Global warming policies will cross many sectors and have far reaching environmental, economic and social consequences. |
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| The primary sectoral changes required in County Wexford are: |
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Improve efficiency in energy production. |
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Reduce use and increase efficiency in energy consumption. |
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Further develop and implement renewable energies |
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Decrease private vehicle use and improve public transport networks. |
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Develop alternative and renewable transport fuels. |
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Plan residential, commercial and amenity locations to reducecommuting distances. |
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Enforce GHG emission limits. |
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Encourage energy efficient and renewable energy technologies. |
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Implement emissions trading. |
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Increase forestry areas. |
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Implement innovative GHG best practice farming methods. |
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Increase recycling of waste and reduce landfill quantities. |
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Utilise existing landfill gases for energy production. |
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| Minimising greenhouse gas emissions will require national and local policymakers to make some tough decisions. Every time a subsidy is added or removed, and every time a regulation or reform is put in place, somebody is adversely affected. For the policymaker it is essential not only to consider the immediate issues at hand but to examine the overall ramifications of an activity or policy in terms of global warming and GHG emissions. |
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| Local needs must sometimes be superseded by national and even global requirements. This can lead to difficult decisions having to be made and local dissatisfaction. Therefore, information campaigns are also essential in alerting the general public about the pressing need for such global warming policies. Schools, community groups, the media, families, and consumers all have a crucial role to play. Large scale changes must be matched by individual action. |
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| When added together everyone's actions can have a dramatic impact on emissions. If large segments of society are willing to make these changes, we can expect an early transition to more energy-efficient, technologically innovative, and environmentally sustainable societies. |
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