ENVIRONMENTAL
international agreement as in
SUSTAINABILITY
One of the most persistent
concerns of the twenty-first
century. This will require
extensive lifestyle and cultural
shifts, particularly in
industrialized societies. Even if
there is an increasing awareness
on the importance of issues like
climate change, food security,
transportation, and preservation
of biodiversity, typically
persistent unsustainable lifestyle
pattern still emerge.
Protocols and Conventions:
1. The Vienna Convention for the
Protection of the Ozone Layer
Served as a framework for
determination to protect the
globes ozone layer.
Provided the context for
international restrictions on the
production of ozone-depleting
substances. The obligations are
universal and contain no specific
limits on chemicals that deplete
the zone layer.
2. Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
Reflects a merging in interests of
scientists who informed people,
industries and other concerned
on growing threats to the ozone
layer. Companies responded to
new national legislation on the
control of harmful chemicals,
nongovernmental organizations
advocate environmental
protection and national
governments as see an
their own best interest.
3. Kyoto Protocol
Under the protocol, countries must
meet their targets primarily through
national agencies and there are
three mechanisms to meet their
targets and these are :
1. International Emissions Trading
- International Emissions
Trading is a system where
parties that have exceeded their
emission reduction commitments
under the Kyoto Protocol may sell
excess assigned amount units
(AAUs). Other parties may meet
their own emissions reductions by
purchasing these AAUs or offset
credits from developing countries.
The mechanism has resulted in
several national and regional
trading schemes, including
the European Union Emission
Trading Scheme.
2. Clean Development
Mechanism - the most successful
of the three flexible mechanisms.
It has two main goals: one, to
assist countries without emissions
targets (ie developing countries)
in achieving sustainable
development. Two, help those
countries with emission reduction
targets under Kyoto (ie developed
countries) in achieving
compliance by allowing them to
purchase offsets created by CDM
projects.
3. Joint implementation (JI) -
Unlike the case of the Clean
Development Mechanism, the JI
has caused less concern of
spurious emission reductions, as
the JI project, in contrast to the
CDM project, takes place in a
country which has a commitment
to reduce emissions under the
Kyoto Protocol.