Critically analyse any two of the main international environmental Research Paper

Critically analyse any two of the main international environmental agreements treaties currently in place - Research Paper Example To protect these characteristics and the overall environment of our planet it is of extreme importance that such human activities are kept in check. To carry out such a task international environmental agreements are agreed upon, enforced and implemented in different regions around the globe. Kyoto Protocol Introduction Greenhouse gasses are rapidly becoming a concern for developed and developing countries alike. The accumulation of carbon-dioxide, produced mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, has played a major role in increasing the average global temperature and other drastic climate changes. The changing global climate conditions led developed countries into formulating the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 (United Nations 2003). The Protocol identified developed countries as the main contributors to the increase in carbon-dioxide emissions. The Protocol provided binding obligations regarding Carbon-dioxide emissions produced by an industrialized country (United Nations 2003). ... Critics argue that the Protocol is flawed in a number of ways and in no way can be economically efficient or politically practical (McKibbin and Wilcoxen 2002). Till this day negotiations are being conducted regarding the implementation of the Protocol. United States refusal to ratify the Protocol could imply that Kyoto Protocol would accomplish very little in terms of its objectives. Initial evaluation of the Protocol tends to suggest that approach of the protocol may have some serious flaws (Bohringer 2003). Key issues regarding climate protection The most widely used decision making process for the assessment of a climate policy is cost-benefit analysis. Under cost benefit analysis the cost of reduction of Greenhouse Gasses is compared with the benefits of reduction in global warming. Cost benefit analysis enables an understanding of the positive and negative impacts of climate policies in terms of monetary benefits and losses (Bohringer 2003). Policies regarding global climate ch ange must take into account interests of all countries. Accurate and complete data and cost benefit analysis could be used to help determine the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that a party should reduce and by what time. However in practicality most countries only work towards the achievements of objectives that are valuable to them and neglect the needs of other countries (Bohringer 2003). Uncertainty As mentioned above cost benefit analysis is used to assess the feasibility of environmental policies and requires detailed information to arrive to any conclusion. The effects of greenhouse gasses have still not been completely understood and the causality chain of these phenomenons is complex in