What is the significance of the Kyoto Protocol? Is India a signatory to this protocol?
The significance of the Kyoto Protocol is explained below:
● The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement setting targets for industrialized countries to cut down their Greenhouse gas emissions.
● Some gases like carbon dioxide, methane and hydrofluorocarbons are partly responsible for Global Warming.
● Global warming refers to a slow and steady increase in the Earth's temperature which may lead to catastrophic consequences for life on earth.
● This protocol was agreed to in 1997 in Kyoto in Japan
● It was based on the principles set out in UNFCCC.
● It helped to clear out the confusion regarding the concerns of the global north and global south.
Yes, India is a signatory to this protocol.
● It was acknowledged that the per capita emission in developing countries was relatively low as compared to the developed countries.
● The developing countries like China and India with exempted from the requirement of the Kyoto Protocol
● However, the critics of this protocol argued that these developing countries will be among the leading contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions