Group 4

Bacongco Gapasin Lim Vitales

Science Environment & Society

TheKyoto Protocol

(OVERVIEW)

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. Most of the worlds industrialized nations support the Kyoto Protocol. One notable exception is the United States, which releases more greenhouse gases than any other nation and accounts for more than 25 percent of those generated by humans worldwide.

Terminologies (Definition of Terms)

The United Nations or UN - an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace. Convention - is a selection from among two or more alternatives, where the rule or alternative is agreed upon among participants. Ratification (to ratify) - to approve and sanction formally Protocol - a preliminary memorandum often formulated and signed by diplomatic negotiators as a basis for a final convention or treaty.

Greenhouse Effect - a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) - is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation. Infrared Radiation the specific name of an electromagnetic radiation which has a critical effect on the Earth's climate.

History of the Kyoto Protocol

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is an international environmental treaty negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) from June 3 to

14, 1992. The objective of the treaty is to stabilize greenhouse gas

concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system.

How and why did the Kyoto Protocol come about?

In 1997, the problem of the rising of earth's average temperature was a strong enough political topic that eighty world leaders met in Kyoto, Japan, to agree upon a means of controlling that increase.

The Convention (body)

The Convention encouraged industrialized countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so. Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty intended to bring countries together to reduce global warming and to cope with the effects of temperature increases that are unavoidable after 150 years of industrialization since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Emission limits do not include emissions by international aviation and shipping, but are in addition to the industrial gases, chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are dealt with under the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

The targets cover emissions of the six main greenhouse gases, namely:
Carbon dioxide (CO2) - Factories; Vehicles; Coal Methane (CH4) - produced in damp sites and landfill sites

Nitrous oxide (N2O) - oxidizer in rocketry and in motor racing to increase the power
output of engines. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for use in

refrigeration and a wide variety of manufacturing processes.

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) Medical purposes (eye surgery, Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI); Cosmetics (anti-aging cream) Etc. Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) - electrical industry (high-voltage circuit breakers, switchgear, and other electrical equipment) and as an inert filling for insulated glazing windows.

Kyoto Protocol participation map as of February, 2012

Green indicates countries that have ratified the treaty (Annex I & II countries in dark green) Brown = No intention to ratify Red = Countries which have withdrawn from the Protocol. Grey = no position taken or position unknown

Annex I countries: industrialized countries and economies in transition

Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia,

Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,

Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian, Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States of America

Annex II countries: developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,

Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States of America

The Kyoto Primary Mechanisms

Under the Treaty, countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures. However, the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional means of meeting their targets by way of three market-based mechanisms.
Emissions trading known as the carbon market" Clean development mechanism (CDM) Joint implementation (JI) Projects.

Emission Trading
The transfer of permits is referred to as a trade. In effect, the buyer is paying a charge for polluting, while the seller is being rewarded for having reduced emissions. Emissions trading, as set out in Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows countries that have emission units to spare emissions permitted them but not "used" - to sell this excess capacity to countries that are over their targets.

Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

is one of the flexibility mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol (IPCC, 2007) that provides for emissions reduction projects which generate Certified Emission Reduction units which may be traded in emissions trading schemes What is certified Emission Reduction Units or ERU - represents a reduction of greenhouse gases, one ton of CO2 equivalent reduced

Joint Implementation Projects

A JI project might involve, for example, replacing a coal-fired power plant with a more efficient combined heat and power plant. Another example of a Joint Implementation project resulting in an emission reduction unit, is the production of biogases by landfill sites. These gases consist of mainly methane which escapes to the atmosphere if it is not collected Methane has a 100-year global warming potential multiplier of 25 compared to carbon dioxide (i.e. has 25 times the greenhouse potency). Collection of methane is usually accompanied by its combustion. Burning one ton of methane produces nearly 3 tons of CO2, thus reducing its greenhouse effect by (25-3=22) ERU.

Monitoring emission targets

Under the Protocol, countries actual emissions have to be monitored and precise records have to be kept of the trades carried out.

track and record transactions by Parties under the mechanisms. The UN Climate Change Secretariat, based in Bonn, Germany, keeps an international transaction log to verify that transactions are consistent with the rules of the Protocol.

done by Parties by way of submitting annual emission inventories and national reports under the Protocol at regular intervals.

ystem ensures that Parties are meeting their commitments and helps them to meet their commitments if they have problems doing so.

The Kyoto Protocol, like the Convention, is also designed to assist countries in adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. It facilitates the development and deployment of techniques that can help increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The Road Ahead

The Kyoto Protocol is generally seen as an important first step towards a truly global emission reduction regime that will stabilize GHG emissions, and provides the essential architecture for any future international agreement on climate change.

Rationale (A set of reasons or a logical basis for a course of action or a particular

belief)

The primary argument among scientists is not whether or not global temperatures are increasing. The disagreement is over two points: how much will temperatures rise and what are the causes of the increase (man-made or nature).

 Evidence that temperatures are rising include melting of mountain glaciers and Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice; reduced ice cover on lakes and rivers; and changes in the arrival and departure dates of migratory birds.

Significance
The Kyoto Protocol was drafted in response to strong scientific evidence that supported anthropogenic climate change. Despite more recent attempts at international greenhouse gas regulation, the Kyoto Protocol remains the worlds only encompassing climate change legislation.

Importance of the KP
Since global warming was a cause of concern to all the countries of the world, they began negotiations to find a solution to the problem. All countries have to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5% from the levels of the reference year 1990 in their respective countries.

Cause and Effect

Tom Wigley in 1998 reported research showing that steady devotion, support, allegiance, or attachment to the Kyoto Protocol alone, without subsequent action, would have a minimal impact on global warming. Wigley used computer modeling to test several emissions scenarios for the "Annex B" countriesthe industrialized and nearly industrialized countries called upon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the protocol. Each scenario was played out through 2010 (the midpoint of the Kyoto commitment period of 20082012) and then extended to the end of the century.

 His computation: This "constant compliance" scenario would

shave 0.11 to 0.21 degrees Celsius (0.200.38 degrees Fahrenheit) off global average temperatures by 2100. Stated another way, instead of heating up by 2.5C (4.5F), a midpoint in the range of projections of global warming, Earth would warm approximately 6% less!

Wigley concluded that the impact on projected temperature increases, with all countries doing only what is required under Kyoto and then continuing with business as usual, would be a scant 0.06 to 0.11C (0.11 to 0.20F) shaved off the total warming, roughly a 3% reduction!

Relationship of Topic to Architecture

- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)s Sustainable Construction

and Building Initiative (SBCI). The report states that the right mix of appropriate government regulation, greater use of energy saving technologies and behavioral change can substantially reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the building sector which accounts for 30-40 % of global energy use. Imagine, over two billion ton of C02 emission can be reduced if we set a more aggressive energy efficiency policy in the building sector world-wide, thats almost 3 times the amount of the Greenhouse gas to be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol.

Relationship of Topic to Architecture

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Or maybe another solution we can consider is to grow our own home? Architect Mitchell Joachims Fab Tree Hab is a living structure that is designed to be nearly entirely edible so as to provide food to some organism at each stage of its life. While inhabited, the homes gardens and

exterior walls produce food for people and animals. The seasonal cycles
help the tree structure provide for itself through composting of fallen leaves in autumn.

Relationship of Topic to Architecture

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The envisioned bioplastic windows, which would flex with the home as it grows, would also degrade and return to the earth upon lifes end, as would the walls. This means we dont even have to use the terms biodegradable to describe the home since none of the materials is processed.

Relationship of Topic to Architecture

Drywall is the number three producer of greenhouse gasses among building materials, trailing just behind cement and steel. Its production generates 200 million tons of carbon dioxide gas, a host of gypsum mines, and immense amounts of energy are required to fire the 500 degree kilns in which it is produced.

But a game-changer is on the horizon: EcoRock. This innovative material requires no gypsum, no ovens to produce, is made from 85 percent industrial by-products and is fully recyclable!

GLOBAL EFFORTS ON ENVIRONMENT PROTECTIONS AND PRESERVATIONS

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- Established in 1972, UNEP is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment.

 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, Countries Agree to Double Resources for Biodiversity Protection by 2015
- The world's governments have agreed to increase funding in support of actions to halt the rate of loss of biodiversity at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which ended 20 October 2012.

 Protected Planet (Date Published: October 2010) - Protected Planet is a new initiative to showcase the World
Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) that uses the 'citizen science' approach to engage the public in gathering and improving information on protected areas. By making this information openly available, the global community can help to improve it, thereby assisting in the conservation of biodiversity and helping to boost global interest in protected areas.

 UN-REDD PROGRAMME

- Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest

Degradation (REDD) attempts to create financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. - It is predicted greenhouse gas emission reductions from REDD+ could reach up to US$30 billion a year.

 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA or EPA)

- Established on December 2, 1970 to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. Since its inception, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.

 AgSTAR Program
- jointly sponsored by EPA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Energy. - The program encourages the use of methane recovery (biogas) technologies at the confined animal feeding operations that manage manure as liquids or slurries. - has produced significant environmental and energy benefits, including methane emission reductions in 2007 alone of approximately 80,000 metric tons and energy generation of about 275 million kWh.

 Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP)

- is an EPA-sponsored voluntary program whose goal is to reduce methane emissions from coal mining activities. - CMOP helps to identify and implement methods to use CMM (Coal Mine Methane) instead of emitting it to the atmosphere. - these actions mitigate climate change, improve mine safety and productivity, and generate revenues and cost savings. - Additionally, by working to maximize the amount of gas recovered from their drainage systems, these projects greatly reduced mine ventilation costs and improved safety conditions for miners.

Conferences of the Parties

Since the UNFCCC entered into force, the parties have been meeting annually in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s

Annual Conference of the Parties (COP) and Meeting of Parties of the Kyoto Protocol (MOP)
1997: COP 3, Kyoto Japan (The Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change) 1998: COP 4, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1999: COP 5, Bonn, Germany 2000: COP 6, The Hague, Netherlands (Strong disagreement in USAs compromise) 2001: COP 6, Bonn, Germany (resumption) 2001: COP 7, Marrakech, Morocco 2002: COP 8, New Delhi, India 2003: COP 9, Milan, Italy 2004: COP 10, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2005: COP 11/MOP 1, Montreal, Canada 1995: COP 1, The Berlin , Germany 1996: COP 2, Geneva, Switzerland 2006: COP 12/MOP 2, Nairobi, Kenya 2007: COP 13/MOP 3, Bali, Indonesia 2008: COP 14/MOP 4, Pozna, Poland 2009: COP 15/MOP 5, Copenhagen, Denmark 2010: COP 16/MOP 6, Cancn, Mexico 2011: COP 17/MOP 7, Durban, South Africa 2012: COP 18/MOP 8, Doha, Qatar - will be the host of COP 18 which will take place in Doha, Qatar, from 26 November to 7 December 2012.

Since global warming was a cause of concern to all the countries of the world, they began negotiations to find a solution to the problem. Key findings and recommendations include: engaging a broad set of participants in greenhouse gas reduction efforts; acknowledging that short term emissions targets are inadequate for addressing the long-term problem of climate change and are unreasonable for countries that enjoyed significant economic growth after 1990;

Recommendations

 embracing market-based instruments as the chief means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep costs down in the short term and bring them down more so in the long term; and, linking domestic programs to allow for international trading and resulting in reduced costs, greater market liquidity, reduced price volatility, and diminished potential for market power and carbon leakage. The Kyoto Protocol was a crucial plus to our environment, and we should hope to see more action in the future.

Conclusion
Architecture should aim not only for humanitys sake but also must be paired with the environments sake in which considering both factors will have a product that will serve for a better purpose for both the humanity and environment that is a goal of the world organization .

 If the government/s are slow, people everywhere are doing what they can do: Recycling, green power, wearing a jumper rather than turning up the heater, and so on. Some local governments are not waiting for their national governments to come to the party and introduce their own

individual carbon trading schemes or offer incentives for solar heating.

Kyoto Protocols symbolic value may be its greatest asset. Any effort is better than none.

Sources:
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2697&ArticleID=9309&l= en http://www.epa.gov/globalmethane/initiative.htm http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/history/index.html http://www.unep.org/climatechange/reddplus/Introduction/tabid/29525/Default.aspx http://www.gaszappers.com/blog/page/7/ http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/3145.php (United Nations Framework Convention in Climate Change) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_the_Kyoto_Protocol Read more: EcoRock: Sustainable Drywall will Rock your Green World | Inhabitat Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building