Reasonable Suspicion: Gloomy Future of the Kyoto Protocol

• Author: Kelly Gieop Na
• Pages: 553-574

Gloomy Future of the Kyoto Protocol

553

VI JEAIL 2 (2013)

Kelly Gieop Na

∗

About 25 years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claimed

that the greenhouse gases, in particular Carbon Dioxide, are mainly responsible

for global warming and its adverse effects. The claim rapidly became an

absolute and incontrovertible truth regardless of countless scientific counter-

evidences. Such international trend was directed to a birth of the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, the detailed

norm to the Convention. Even to this very day, the

“

man-made climate change

”

operates as implicit prerequisite of continuing international climate conferences

and international environmental law studies. The paper tries to introduce a

    



demonstrates that serious concern about the environment barely exists in current

climate response system and attempts to adduce suggestions that should be made

in future climate change conferences.

Keywords

Climate Change, Fossil Fuel, UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change, Global Warming, ETS, Common but Differentiated

Responsibilities

Reasonable Suspicion:

Gloomy Future of the

Kyoto Protocol

∗ J.D. candidate. LL.B. (Dongguk Univ. Korea) The author may be contacted at: boulez25@naver.com / Address: 487-

2, Namjeon-ri, Maseo-myeon, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do 325-812 Korea.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2013.6.2.10

STUDENT CONTRIBUTION

554 Kelly Na

I. Introduction

On November 26, 2012, the eighteenth annual conference of the Parties to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) was held in Doha,

Qatar. There, an agreement was reached to extend the life of the Kyoto Protocol

(“KP”) up to 2020, which had been originally due to expire by the end of 2012.

Greenhouse gas (“GHG”) reduction obligation was also reallocated. Some applaud

the output of this Conference, expressing relief because of the extension of KP.

1

Yet,

others still stand skeptical, pointing out that the absence of world’s leading countries

including the United States (“US”) and China in the KP may not be an effective

solution to the climate change.

2

As a result of the Doha Conference, a few questions of international law have

been newly arising, e.g., an alternative energy technology aid for developing

countries, allocation of reduction obligation based on the principle of equity, matter

of common but differentiated responsibilities, and enactment of legislation to

compensate the defect of international emission trading system. Now these pressing

concerns of international society are destined to remain in existence by the extension

of KP.

The primary purpose of this research is to introduce a viewpoint from the

scientific skepticism towards “man-made climate change” and to figure out the

political calculations inside KP from a viewpoint of international law. This paper is

      

the progress of international discourse of climate change from the beginning to the

launch of the UNFCCC system. Part three will chase factors that had decisive effects

     



progress.

1 Staff Writer, What Doha Did: No progress today, but a slightly better chance of progress tomorrow, The economisT,

Dec. 15, 2012, available at http://www.economist.com/news/international/21568355-no-progress-today-slightly-better-

chance-progress-tomorrow-what-doha-did; Doha Climate Conference Opens Gateway to Greater Ambition and Action on

Climate Change, United Nations Environment Programme, Dec. 9, 2012, available at http://www.unep.org/newscentre/

default.aspx?DocumentID=2700&ArticleID=9353 (all last visited on Sept. 18, 2013).

2 L. Gray, Doha: Climate Change Deal Limping towards ‘Disappointing’ Conclusion, The Telegraph, Dec. 7, 2012,

available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/9730981/Doha-Climate-change-deal-limping-

towards-disappointing-conclusion.html (last visited on Sept. 18, 2013).