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Introduction
Given that environmental problems like climate change and global warming are mostly associated with carbon dioxide (CO2) emission (IPCC, 2007), policy-makers have inevitably pushed for low carbon emitting technologies. These problems are global in nature and there is little incentive to control them at the national level. Therefore, global actions in terms of some international treaty seem to be the only viable option. The international community can play a valuable role in addressing the global environmental crisis by financing appropriate training, policy reforms, information gathering and public environment education (Dasgupta et al., 2002).
Since the 1990s, many conventions at the international level were held to find solutions to these catastrophic problems. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in 1992, and later, the Kyoto Protocol represent milestones in the history of grappling with issues related to greenhouse gases (GHGs) and climate change, wherein most countries voluntarily agreed to bring down their carbon emissions. The Kyoto Protocol establishes the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities: it puts the obligation to reduce current emissions on the developed countries (Annex 1) on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of GHGs in the atmosphere. As part of the Kyoto protocol, member countries were required to reduce 5 per cent CO2 emission by 2008-2012 and 20-25 per cent by 2020 (UNFCC). Low income developing countries (Non-Annex 1) also agreed to voluntarily limit their emissions after reaching a certain threshold per capita income level.
The stand adopted by developing countries against the Kyoto Protocol is that mitigation is primarily a responsibility of developed countries as they are historically responsible for Co2 emission in the atmosphere. Even in the context of climate change, they give paramount importance to social and economic development. On the other hand, developed countries argue that developing countries have a huge emission reduction potential at lower macroeconomic cost to their national wealth. Therefore, instead of decreasing, CO2 emission has in fact increased since 1990s, especially in developing countries like India and China (Govindaraju and Tang, 2013). This normative position taken by both developed and developing economies can have disastrous consequences.
Against this background, this article tries to analyze the impact of the Kyoto Protocol on...