Australia: Greenhouse emissions and the Kyoto Protocol

Extract: The concentration levels of greenhouse gases found in the Earth’s atmosphere have been rising at an alarming rate over recent decades. Scientists predict that a continued accretion will lead to an increase in the Earth’s average temperature. If this occurs, the changes that are taking place in all aspects of our environment will affect the global climate with numerous indirect consequences, injury to our health and our ecosystem. The Kyoto Protocol is a United Nations sponsored document that attempts to obtain international agreement on how to deal with this issue. This article discusses some of the background to Australia’s decision not to endorse this Protocol and other initiatives taken by Australia to deal with greenhouse emissions.