The Truth about the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Stated in the Kyoto Protocol -Environmental Problems Used as Political and Economic Strategies by European Countries-

This paper discusses the process of the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, including the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and government policies of different countries reflected in the process, and examines whether or not the protocol has significance for the prevention of global warming. The results suggest that the process of setting an emission reduction target undergone by the Japanese government did not include thorough discussions and accurate estimates. On the other hand, E.U. member countries and the U.S.A. had discussed various measures with everything taken into account before they attended the Conference of Parties III (COP3). It should have been easy to predict that Japan would be disadvantaged by the enactment of the Kyoto Protocol even before the conference was held. While emission reduction targets for Japan and other developed countries were being set in the Kyoto Conference, all participating countries must have been solely determined to ensure that the protocol would work to their advantage, rather than actively trying to prevent global warming. Furthermore, when the protocol was adopted and emission reduction targets for Britain and Germany were set, these countries had surprisingly already accomplished their goals. This was presumably because industrialized E.U. countries held particularly dominant positions in the conference. On the other hand, Japan was solely determined to build a consensus among the participating countries and maintain its dignity as the host country of the Kyoto Conference. As a result, Japan had to agree to an emission reduction target that could not be easily accomplished.