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Home > Resources > Ethics & International Affairs Journal > Volume 18.1 (Winter 2004) > Articles |
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The Global Warming Tragedy and the Dangerous Illusion of the Kyoto Protocol [Abstract]
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February 3, 2004
In 2001, 178 of the world’s nations reached agreement on a treaty to combat
global climate change brought on by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.
Despite the notable omission of the United States, representatives of the
participants, and many newspapers around the world, expressed elation. Margot
Wallström, the environment commissioner of the European Union, went so far as to
declare, "Now we can go home and look our children in the eye and be proud of
what we have done."
In this article, I argue for two theses. First, the rhetoric and euphoria
surrounding the 2001 deal is misplaced. This is not, as is often said, because
the Kyoto agreement is too demanding but rather because it is much too weak. In
particular, the Kyoto agreement does little to protect future generations. On
the contrary, (at best) it seems to be a prudent wait-and-see policy for the
present generation, narrowly defined. Hence, even those countries who have
endorsed the Kyoto agreement should be wary of looking their children in the
eye, and none should relish facing their children’s children.
Second, the failure of the Kyoto agreement can be explained in terms of the
underlying structure of the problem. Climate change involves the intersection of
a complex set of intergenerational and intragenerational collective action
problems. This structure, and in particular its intergenerational aspect, has
not been adequately appreciated. Yet until it is, we are doomed to an
ineffectual environmental policy.
To read or purchase the full text of this article, click here.
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The Carnegie Council's flagship publication, Ethics & International Affairs is an interdisciplinary resource for scholars, students, and policy analysts concerned with the moral dimensions of global issues. The journal covers global justice, civil society, democratization, international law, intervention, sanctions, and related topics.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
To subscribe to Ethics & International Affairs, or to purchase individual issues and articles, go to Blackwell Publishing.
RESPONSES
The Editors welcome responses to Features and Essays published in Ethics & International
Affairs. To be considered for publication, responses should be no longer than one
thousand words, including endnotes (which
should be kept to a minimum). Responses
are not peer-reviewed, and are published at
the Editors' discretion. All responses are
subject to editing for length and style. In the
event of any questions or substantive editing,
the response will be returned to the author
for final approval prior to publication.
Responses are published online, alongside
the article they address.
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