The controversial Kyoto Protocol, which is intended to reduce the level of greenhouse gases, recently suffered a major setback when Russia hinted that it would not ratify the treaty.
Supporters of Kyoto focused their attention on Russia after President Bush nixed the idea two years ago. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin took a page out of Bush's book and decided that the protocol would cause more harm than good.
\Russia is a northern country, so if it warms up two or three degrees, it's not terrible."" he said. ""We'd spend less money on fur coats.""
Some western states decided to opt out because of differentiating views on the effectiveness of the treaty, and that the west would hold an elevated financial burden compared to the rest of the world, according to Jon Pevehouse, professor of political science at
UW-Madison.
""Certain countries aren't going to be able to use certain types of chemicals in their development process, so the developing countries have argued that the developed world needs to pay,"" he said.
Fifty-five percent of countries responsible for greenhouse gas emissions are needed to ratify the treaty if it hopes to pass, Pevehouse said. While many key states such as Russia and the United States have declared their intentions not to sign the Kyoto treaty, 119 countries have already signed the accord, representing 44 percent of emissions worldwide. While the United States and Russia not ratifying the treaty makes its success less likely, there is still a chance that the 55 percent will eventually be reached.
There are many ways a country can attempt to decrease its greenhouse gas emmisions, including reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, and by implementing restrictions on the emission of automobile gases, according to William Thiesenhusen, professor emeritus of agricultural and applied economics at UW-Madison.
Thiesenhusen said that the changes are difficult, but necessary. The treaty calls for countries to reduce greenhouse gases by 8 percent over the next nine years. The government would most likely have to implement some restrictions on different industries in order to adhere to the Kyoto guidelines. These regulations could potentially yield negative effects, which does not bode well with those representing certain industries.
""If you put these curbs on industries it means you have to spend more and raise your costs to lower the emission. The industrial complex is a very organized group, and one that has to be contended with, and Congress doesn't like to tangle particularly with the industrial complex. It's very difficult admittedly, but it has to be done,"" Thiesenhusen said.
Paula Dobriansky, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs illustrated the Bush administration's concerns on Kyoto by calling the accord ""an unrealistic and ever-tightening regulatory straitjacket, curtailing energy consumption.""
-CNN contributed to this report
