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upplemental Reading
A
ccording to the Kyoto Protocol, various nations agreed to cut their
emissions of greenhouse gases below emission levels in 1990.
Developing nations such as China and India are exempt from meeting
the standards set by the Protocol. In order for the treaty to go into effect, 55
countries representing 55 percent of the emissions by industrialized countries
must ratify it. More than 100 countries have already ratified the Protocol, but all
of these countries only represent 43 percent of the emission levels from 1990.
The way the plan works is that industries first set a limit, or cap, on
emission levels for the industry. Industries such as oil and gas producers,
generating plants, and industrial plants would all take part in establishing the
limits. Once the treaty is in effect, companies that produce emissions below the
cap level can “sell” their unused level to other companies. New industries that
would produce emissions must then buy or trade with existing industries to keep
the national emissions within limits.
Supporters of the Kyoto Protocol were hopeful that Russia would ratify the
agreement in 2003. However, Russia decided to postpone its ratification. One of
the reasons Russia was originally interested in signing the Protocol was that they
were already well below 1990 emission levels. This meant if
they took part in the agreement, they would have plenty
of credits to sell. However, since the US is not
