Multi-gas assessment of the Kyoto Protocol

Abstract

The Kyoto Protocol allows reductions in emissions of several 'greenhouse' gases to be credited against a CO 2-equivalent emissions limit, calculated using 'global warming potential' indices for each gas. Using an integrated global-systems model, it is shown that a multi-gas control strategy could greatly reduce the costs of fulfilling the Kyoto Protocol compared with a CO 2-only strategy. Extending the Kyoto Protocol to 2100 without more severe emissions reductions shows little difference between the two strategies in climate and ecosystem effects. Under a more stringent emissions policy, the use of global warming potentials as applied in the Kyoto Protocol leads to considerably more mitigation of climate change for multi-gas strategies than for the-supposedly equivalent-CO 2-only control, thus emphasizing the limits of global warming potentials as a tool for political decisions. Many trace atmospheric constituents affect the radiative budget of the atmosphere. The Kyoto Protocol includes carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF 6) (

Can Reducing Black Carbon Emissions Counteract Global Warming?

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Border tax adjustments in the climate policy context: CO2 versus broad-based GHG emission targeting

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Testing the efficacy of voluntary urban greenhouse gas emissions inventories

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