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Kyoto Protocol

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Table of Contents Introduction to Copenhagen Conference and Kyoto Protocol 2 ASEAN and Copenhagen Conference 3 Climate Change as an Issue 4 Sustainable Development 5 Impact of Kyoto Protocol on ASEAN 7 Challenges faced by ASEAN under Kyoto Protocol 9 Conclusion 11 Referencing 12

Introduction to Copenhagen Conference and Kyoto Protocol
In 1992, countries coupled together for an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, by 1995, countries realized that provisions of emission reductions in the Convention were insufficient. Due to this reason, they launched negotiations to reinforce the global response to climate change. These negotiations lead to the adoption of an agreement known as Kyoto Protocol (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2013).
The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference held in Denmark raised climate change policy to the highest political level. 115 world leaders attended this high-level segment, building it one of the major gatherings of world leaders ever outside UN headquarters in New York. More than 40,000 people that represent governments, nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, media, faith-based organizations UN agencies applied for accreditation (UNFCCC, 2013)
The Copenhagen Accord enclosed numerous key elements on which there was strong union of the views of governments. This incorporated the long-term goal of limiting the maximum global average temperature increase to no more than 2 degrees Centigrade.
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. It entered into oblige on 16 February 2005 because of complex ratification process (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2013).

ASEAN and Copenhagen Conference
The ASEAN region is gifted with rich natural resources that maintain essential life support systems both for the region and the rest of the world. The rich marine life and abundant mineral resources underground and underwater supports important economic activities in ASEAN. This includes oil exploration, commercial and small-scaled fisheries and most importantly tourism. Besides from providing water, food and energy, these natural resources also play a very significant part in sustaining a wide assortment of economic activities and livelihoods resources (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2013)
The strategic position of ASEAN has in addition brought about plentiful economic advantages to the region, predominantly through international shipping and foreign trade
The ASEAN Heads of State have been proactively leading ASEAN’s efforts to deal with climate change issues in the region and beyond. They have issued a declaration to the 2007 Bali UN Climate Change Conference that sets the two-year road map for the current negotiations. Moreover, on 24th October 2009, it issued a Joint Statement to the December 2009 Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference where a fresh climate change agreement is expected to be concluded (Letchumanan, 2010).
ASEAN is extremely populated. The sum population in middle of 2008 was about 580 million that accounted for 8.7 percent of the world’s total population. The Bali Road Map was adopted at the 13th Conference of the Parties, also in the 3rd Meeting of the Parties in December 2007 which took place in the island of Bali in Indonesia. The Bali Road Map is inclusive of the Bali Action Plan that charts the course for a fresh negotiating process, which is designed to undertake climate change. The Bali Action Plan is categorized into five main categories namely shared vision, mitigation, adaptation, technology and financing. This produced the Copenhagen Accord (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2013).

Climate Change as an Issue
Climate change has become the most primarily challenging sustainable development concern of the twentieth first century. It is defining in the sense due to the fact that it now dictates the pace and nature of economic growth, social progress and development. Moreover, at the same time potentially becoming the utmost hazard to humanity.
ASEAN is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to the concentration of people and economic activities in the coastal areas, its rich biological diversity, resource-based economies, and the increased vulnerability of the people especially the poor (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2013)
The ASEAN Leaders have uttered their concern and obligation for ASEAN to play a positive part in addressing the climate change through their declarations in the Bali and Copenhagen Conferences that took place in 2007 and 2009 respectively. The leaders of ASEAN outlook the defense of the environment along with the sustainable utilization and management of natural resources as important to the long-term economic growth and social development of nation in the region. The ASEAN Vision 2020 calls for “a clean and green ASEAN” with entirely established mechanisms to guarantee the protection of the environment, high quality of life and people in the region and sustainability of natural resources (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2013)

Sustainable Development
Sustainable development (SD) refers to a mode of human development in which resource use aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.
The Kyoto Protocol provides such mechanisms, which will promote investment in climate-friendly projects that will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, at the same time it shall assist in promoting sustainable development in developing countries (Wulf Killmann, chairperson of the FAO climate change working group, 2008)
The Strategic goals of ASEAN’s Coal and CCT in APAEC 2010-2015, include: 1- Promoting and increasing cleaner coal use and trade for regional energy security. 2- Encouraging the use of clean coal technologies through regional cooperation 3- Building the perception of coal as a cleaner fuel as a result of clean coal technologies.
Food, agriculture along with forestry is one of the significant components of ASEAN’s objective in order to create a single market and production foundation as laid down in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
The share of coal along with gas fired electricity inside ASEAN countries, together with Indonesia, is predictable to increase to a degree as a result of energy policies that were designed to lessen the dependence on oil. Opportunities for new hydro projects in South East Asia are limited (Polidano, 2000). ASEAN Member States can be sustainable in their development process by adapting to the climate change by taking measures, which includes the utilization of bio energy, reforestation, and the adoption of improved agricultural practices that shall assist them in reducing emissions from agriculture while increasing the production to ensure constant sustainable development. Bio energy, or energy derived from bio mass, is one of the most vital alternatives to fossil fuel in developing along with industrialized countries.
ASEAN Member States could do more by putting investment in increasing bio energy generation. In addition, under the Kyoto Protocol, forests play a unique role as carbon sinks due to the fact that they can recapture and store carbon dioxide that is already released into the atmosphere. Historically, forest conversion into agricultural land has been a significant resource of greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere. Furthermore, improved agricultural practices also exist that can reduce carbon emission from agriculture while increasing production. For example, increased use of bio fuel based machinery, more rational use of chemical fertilizers along with herbicides and pesticides and latest rice systems with less methane emissions. Kyoto Protocol aims to develop and promote these practices and activities so that developing countries like ASEAN may be consistent in sustainable development.

Impact of Kyoto Protocol on ASEAN
The leaders of ASEAN furthermore issued an ASEAN Summit Declaration on Environmental Sustainability along with their East Asia Summit counterparts issued the Singapore Declaration on energy, environment and climate change. Thailand, which is also the current ASEAN Chair played a role as host to the Bangkok Climate Change Talks for two weeks from 28th September 2009, that is knows as a crucial event, which will determine whether a latest climate change agreement can be reached in Copenhagen. The Prime Minister of Thailand attended the G20 Meeting in Pittsburgh in September 2009 where he expressed, amongst others, ASEAN’s concerns along with expectations on climate change (Letchumanan, 2010).
Kyoto Protocol will help ASEAN in building partnerships with global financial and development cooperation institutions, which will assist in encouraging innovative financing options. This has predicted to stimulate investment in climate-friendly technology and development for ASEAN and the rest of the world. Within this context, it is recognized that economic and social development along with eradication of poverty and environmental protection, are major priorities of developing countries in the region. It is as well accepted in ASEAN that fossil fuel consumption strengthen ASEAN Member State’s economies (Letchumanan, 2010).
It is devised within the declaration that the underlying goals in sustainable development in addition with alternative fuel sources, will be a reality in the projected future. Any action that will be taken place in order to mitigate climate change should be in a manner that it will complement and enhance sustainable development and sustained economic growth of ASEAN Member States (Letchumanan, 2010).
Adoption of Kyoto targets and its mechanisms shall influence world trade investment along with technology adoption. The mainly significant economic impacts on ASEAN could be trade effects that can be both positive and negative along with investment effects (Polidano, 2000).
Coal in ASEAN region is known for the fastest growing energy source due to the increasing requirement of fuel for electricity generation as well as in the industrial sector. The energy plan of the ASEAN Member States has been indicating the rapid growth of utilization of coal for power generation. This will present an opportunity to promote and increase cleaner coal utilization and trade that surely will bring in mutual economic benefits towards regional energy security. Regardless of the growing environmental controls, additional coal power projects are moving further with increasing preference for clean coal technologies. Therefore, collective action is hence desirable to strengthen cooperatives partnerships in the promotion and coal utilization along with clean coal technologies amongst the ASEAN member States.
Kyoto Protocol in ASEAN shall also promote and facilitate exchange of information and knowledge on scientific research and development (R&D) along with deployment and relocation of technology and best practices on adaptation and Mitigation measures. In addition, it shall enhance human resource development.
Moreover, it shall promote strategies to make certain that climate change initiatives will lead to an economically vibrant and environment friendly ASEAN Community while taking into account win-win synergy among climate change and the economic development of ASEAN Member States.

Challenges faced by ASEAN under Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol will affect production and transaction costs through internalizing environmental costs. A change in products, services and markets is to be expected while a drag on GDP growth can be observed. One of the initiatives of Kyoto Protocol is the carbon taxes incurred on different institution. Kyoto Protocol will require proper allocation and trade of environmental rights. However, this in addition shall result in new market opportunities for environmental goods and services.
It is rational statement that emissions control actions that would be taken place by the large developed countries under Kyoto Protocol, which dominate world trade flows, will have negative effects on the global economy due to the fact that most of the developing countries are dependent on energy exporters. The greatest loss is imposed on energy exporters and some of the states of ASEAN being part of them. The more dependent a country is on energy exports, the greater the chances are of their effectiveness on economic welfare.
Regions that depend themselves heavily on fossil fuel exports are projected to incur large real GNP losses, whereas regions that rely more heavily on energy intensive exports stand to gain in aggregate terms. ASEAN in general has diverse production and export structure and are expected to encounter a number of impacts that are both positive and negative. In conclusion, the terms of trade along with real GNP impacts in these regions are comparatively small (Polidano, 2000)..

Source: Kyoto Protocol and Developing Countries
Moreover, ASEAN may encounter high trade orientation, which means that trade impacts has dominated investment impacts. This can lead ASEAN to real GNP losses. As mention earlier, the share of coal along with gas fired electricity inside ASEAN countries is predicted to be increased as a result of energy policies that were designed to lessen the dependence on oil whereas opportunities for new hydro projects in South East Asia are limited (Polidano, 2000).

Conclusion
In conclusion, Kyoto Protocol has both positive and negative impact on consistent and sustainable development of the ASEAN Member’s States. ASEAN region can take benefit by being environmental conscious as it will assist them in advancing in technological innovations. At the same time, there can be few obstacles and challenges that are expected to be faced by the ASEAN Member’s States while implementing the mechanisms of Kyoto Protocol through the Copenhagen Conference.

Word Count: 2087 (Two thousand and eighty seven only)

Referencing
Books and Journals/PDFs
Parkin, M. (1990). Economics. Reading, Mass, Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
Polidano, C., Jotzo, F., Heyhoe, E., Jakeman, G., Woffenden, K. and Fisher, B.S. 2000, The Kyoto Protocol and Developing Countries: Impacts and Implications for Mechanism Design, ABARE Research Report 2000.4, Canberra
Babiker, M. H. M., Reilly, J. M., & Jacoby, H. D. (1999). The Kyoto Protocol and Developing countries. Cambridge, MA, MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.
Letchumanan, R. (2010) ASEC. Is there an ASEAN policy on climate change?, Available at: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/reports/pdf/SR004/ASEC.pdf [Accessed: 10th April 2013].
Hackl, F. and J.Pruckner, G. (1999) Untitled. The Economics of Kyoto Protocol, [Accessed: 10th April 2013].

Websites
UNFCC (2013) ASEAN Common Position Paper . Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in Developing Countries , Available at: http://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/application/pdf/indonesiaaseanredd060608.pdf [Accessed: 10th April 2013].
Change, U. (2011) Bali Road Map Intro. [online] Available at: http://unfccc.int/key_steps/bali_road_map/items/6072.php [Accessed: 17 Apr 2013].
West, L. (2005) What is the Kyoto Protocol?. [online] Available at: http://environment.about.com/od/kyotoprotocol/i/kyotoprotocol_2.htm [Accessed: 17 Apr 2013].
Change, U. (2011) Copenhagen Climate Change Conference - December 2009. [online] Available at: http://unfccc.int/meetings/copenhagen_dec_2009/meeting/6295.php [Accessed: 17 Apr 2013].
Greenpeace Philippines (2007) Kyoto Protocol anniversary: Southeast Asia must cut its rising greenhouse gas emissions. [online] Available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/News/news-stories/kyoto-protocol-anniversary-so/ [Accessed: 17 Apr 2013].

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