This work is done as a part of degree requirement in Spring 2017. The author was pursuing MS in Environmental Engineering Sciences at University of Florida during the making of this project.

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GRADUATE PROJECT
TITLE: Impact of Greenhouse Gases on Climate Policy
STUDENT: Kalaivanan Murthy (Kal)
PURPOSE: Master of Science Degree Requirement
DATE: March 23, 2017 (Revised August 2018)
LENGTH: 3 chapters, 16 pages
(Revised Version)

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INDEX
TITLE.........................................................................................................................................................................1
[1] GREENHOUSE GAS: AN ATMOSPHERIC ENTITY ......................................................................................3
[1.1] Introduction: Positive Radiative Forcing.......................................................................................................3
[1.2] Emission Apportionment: Sources and Amounts..........................................................................................3
[1.3] Comment: Alarming Trend............................................................................................................................5
[2] IMPACTS: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY......................................................................................................6
[2.1] Overview: Global Warming and Climate Change.........................................................................................6
[2.2] Primary Impacts: Civilization Existence .......................................................................................................6
[2.2.1] Water Resources and Hydrology. ...........................................................................................................7
[2.2.2] Food and Agriculture..............................................................................................................................7
[2.2.3] Energy.....................................................................................................................................................7
[2.2.4] Infrastructure...........................................................................................................................................8
[2.3] Secondary Impacts: Civilization Progress .....................................................................................................8
[3] INTERGOVERNMENTAL ACTIONS .............................................................................................................10
[3.1] Overview: Collective Action .......................................................................................................................10
[3.2] Intergovernmental Treaty: Mitigating Climate Change...............................................................................10
[3.2.1] Earth Summit, 1992. .............................................................................................................................10
[3.2.2] Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1994...............................................................................10
[3.2.3] Kyoto Protocol, 1997............................................................................................................................11
[3.2.4] Paris Agreement, 2016..........................................................................................................................11
[3.2.5] Montreal Protocol, 1989. ......................................................................................................................12
[Annexure-A1] REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................13
[Annexure-A2] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..............................................................................................................16

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[1] GREENHOUSE GAS: AN ATMOSPHERIC ENTITY
[1.1] Introduction: Positive Radiative Forcing
Greenhouse gases are those which have positive radiative forcing on earth. Radiative forcing is the net energy
absorbed, which is the difference between insolation energy or the energy coming from the sun and the radiated
energy or the energy emitted back to space. Those which increases the incoming energy or decreases the outgoing
energy are said to cause positive radiative forcing, which increases the earth’s temperature, and those which does
the vice-versa are said to cause negative radiative forcing, which decreases the earth’s temperature. The term
radiative forcing is also referred to as climate forcing. Some of the examples for positive radiative forcing are
black carbon and carbon dioxide; and for negative radiative forcing are stratospheric ozone, sulfate aerosol and
mineral dust.
The gases which cause positive radiative forcing on earth are called greenhouse gases. They are carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, water
vapor and tropospheric ozone. The extent of forcing depends on the molecular composition and structure of the
gas. It is referred to as radiative efficiency or global warming potential. For example, chlorofluorocarbons have
relatively higher radiative efficiency around 0.3 W m-2
ppb-1
while carbon dioxide has around 0.000 013 W m-2
ppb-1. Similarly, the atmospheric concentrations vary for different greenhouse gases. For example,
chlorofluorocarbons are present at around 200 ppt, while carbon dioxide is present at around 400 ppm (400 000
000 ppt). The atmospheric concentration and radiative efficiency of some of the greenhouse gases are presented in
Table 1.1.
[1.2] Emission Apportionment: Sources and Amounts
Greenhouse gases are generated from natural and anthropogenic sources (human caused) which include
combustion of fossil fuel and burning of biomass. The generation quantities vary for different gases and across
various regions. The sources and generators of greenhouse gases are given in the following tables. Since different
gases has different radiative efficiency, to avoid complexity, their radiative efficiencies are specified relative to
that of carbon dioxide and that is referred here as Relative Radiative Efficiency. For example, the radiative
efficiency of methane is 26.49 times that of carbon dioxide for the same volume.
Table 1.1 Atmospheric concentration, Radiative efficiency, Lifetime of some greenhouse gases.
These are measured in the year 2005. (Source: IPCC)
Greenhouse Gas Atmospheric
Concentration (ppt)
Radiative Efficiency
(W m-2
ppb-1
)
Relative
Radiative
Efficiency
Lifetime
(years)
Carbon Dioxide 390.5 ppm 1.37 x 10-5
1 5-200
Methane 1.80 ppm 3.63 x 10-4
26.5 9.1
Nitrous Oxide 0.32 ppm 3.03 x 10-3
221.17 131
CFC-12
(Chlorofluorocarbon)
529.5 0.32 23357.66 100
HFC-134a
(Hydrofluorocarbon)
62.4 0.16 11678.83 13.4
CF4 (Perfluorocarbon) 79.0 0.1 7299.27 50,000
SF6 (Sulfur Hexafluoride) 7.26 0.58 42335.77 3,200
Note: There are other chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons present in atmosphere.

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Table 1.2 Major sources of greenhouse gases in 2010 (source: US-EPA, IPCC)
Source Category Relative Emission
Electricity and Heat Production 25%
Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) 24%
Industry 21%
Transport 14%
Other Energy 10%
Buildings 6%
Table 1.3 Global emissions apportionment within Energy sector (source: US-EPA, IPCC)
End-user of Energy Relative Emission
Transportation 27%
Buildings 32%
Industry 28%
Table 1.4 Relative emission amounts and impact (source: US-EPA, IPCC)
Greenhouse Gas Relative Emission Global Warming Potential
(Relative Radiative
Efficiency)
Unit Emission Impact
Carbon Dioxide
Fossil Fuel - 65%, AFOLU - 11% 76% 1 0.002
Methane 16% 26.5 0.009#
Nitrous Oxide 6% 221.2 0.029
Fluorinated Gases 2% 21897* 0.960
#
(0.16x26.5) / (0.76x1 + 0.16x26.5 + 0.06x221.2 + 0.02*21897) = 0.00929.
This quantity accounts for both emission levels and global warming potential or radiative efficiency. Evidently, it is
a representative of unit impact of methane emission on global warming. For this, the radiative efficiency is
approximated as 0.3 for all fluorinated gases.
Table 1.5 Emission by country in 2012 (source: US-EPA, IPCC)
Source Country Relative Emissions
(By Volume)
Emission Per Capita
China 23.36% 1.22
United States 14.40% 3.24
European Union 10.16% 1.43
India 6.96% 0.39
Russia 5.36% 2.65
Japan 3.11% 1.71
Brazil 2.34% 0.85

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Rest countries 34.31% 0.76
TOTAL 100.00% 1.00
Table 1.6 Global Anthropogenic emissions trend (source: US-EPA, IPCC)
Time Emission ( x103
million metric tons
carbon)
1881 0.2
1901 0.6
1921 0.8
1941 1.3
1961 2.6
1971 4.2
1981 5.2
1991 6.2
2001 6.9
2011 9.4
[1.3] Comment: Alarming Trend
From Table 1.1, it can be observed that halogenated carbons and sulfur hexafluoride are more powerful than
carbon dioxide as their radiative efficiency is greater by over four orders. In other words, cutting 1 cubic meter of
halogenated carbon emission is equivalent to cutting over 7000 cubic meters of carbon dioxide.
From Table 1.2, it can be observed that Electricity and Heat Production emits the highest amount of greenhouse
gases, followed by Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU). An interesting observation is AFOLU, a
natural source, emits roughly equal to that of Electricity and Heat Production which is an anthropogenic source.
From Table 1.3, it can be observed that Buildings and Transportation alone accounts for over half of energy
produced. This implies that policies targeted at these two sectors can make a significant impact in reduction of
greenhouse gases.
From Table 1.4, it can be observed that impact of unit emission of fluorinated gas and nitrous oxide on global
warming is much higher than that of carbon dioxide.
From Table 1.5, it can be observed that China, United States and European Union alone accounts for over half the
greenhouse gas emissions globally. From assessing per capita emissions, we can observe that United States and
Russia are top emitters. Their combined per capita emission is higher than that of next four parties* (Japan,
European Union, China, Brazil) combined.
From Table 1.6, we can observe that emissions are rampantly increasing in the last few decades. The mean
emissions in last quarter of 20th century (1976-2000) is close to hundred times more than that of 19th century
(1876-1900). The mean emissions in the first decade of 21st century (2001-2010) has increased by over one-
fourth that of last decade of 20th century (1991-2000). In the first decade of 21st century, greenhouse gas
emissions have increased at the rate of approximately 870 MT CO2 Equivalents per year.
* The term ‘party’ is used in many places instead of ‘countries’ or ‘nations’ to account for European Union which
represents several countries in its territory and hence it is treated as a party.

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[2] IMPACTS: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
[2.1] Overview: Global Warming and Climate Change
Greenhouse gas induces positive radiative forcing on earth. As a result, the outgoing radiation is trapped within
the atmosphere (troposphere) and this causes a rise in temperature. This is called global warming, which is also
referred by a broader term climate change. Climate change is defined as ‘change in climate which is attributed
directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in
addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable periods.’ The direct indicators of climate change
are temperature rise and sea level rise.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects a temperature rise of 0.2 °C per decade for the next
two decades. Shockingly it adds even if the concentrations of all greenhouse gases and aerosols were kept
constant at the year 2000 level, temperature rises at the rate of 0.1 °C per decade. Between 1880 and 2012, in a
span of 132 years, earth’s global mean temperature has risen by 0.85 °C. Between 1985 and 2000, in a span of 15
years in the late 20th century, surface solar radiation has been increasing at a rate of 2-3 Wm-2
per decade.
Between 1993 and 2003, in a span of 10 years in the wake of 21st century, sea level rose at the rate of 3.1 mm per
year. IPCC expects sea level to rise anywhere between 19 cm and 59 cm by 2090, relative to base period 1980-
1999. The rising sea level results in shoreline change and coastal erosion. An UN consultant reports that, as of
1998, half of world’s population–about 3.2 million people–lives and works within 200km coastal strip. A study
based in Germany reports that, in China and Bangladesh, the population in low elevation coastal zone (LECZ)
grew by approximately twice the rate of national population growth during 1990-2000. LECZ is the zone of land
along the coast below 10m elevation. Globally, China has the most population living in low lying areas, which is
close to 50.5 million. Netherlands has the highest percentage of national population exposed to below sea level,
which amounts to 47%. Vietnam has word’s second highest number of people and second highest percent of
national population exposed to below sea level, which is close to 23.5 million and 26% respectively.
Climate change directly affects food supply, agricultural activity, hydrological cycle, precipitation pattern, and
thus regional climate. In addition to these primary needs, the other entities affected are energy, infrastructure,
aquatic life, wildlife. Besides the fundamental needs of human life, entities related to an economy’s growth and
progress are also affected. Changes in earth’s systems are also observed from increasing evidences of changes in
ocean heat content, sea surface temperature, surface humidity, and decreases in glacier volume, snow cover, sea
ice area, cloud cover. In addition, there has been a steady increase in number of extreme events. This includes
extremities in temperature, precipitation, wind and local weather events.
Climate change can make positive impact in few regions. One such example is where NASA reports that length of
frost-free season has been increasing since 1980s, and the largest increased in observed in United States. Frost-
free season is also referred to as growing season, and is the season corresponding to climatological spring.
However, when the global impacts are summed the gross negative impacts surpass the gross positive impacts,
making it net negative impact. The impact of global warming and climate change is emphasized through
discussion of primary and secondary impacts in the following section.
[2.2] Primary Impacts: Civilization Existence
The four things fundamental to human survival are food, water, energy and infrastructure. Inevitably, climate
change poses negative impact on these entities, but how much and to what extent must be understood. The most
important consequence of climate change is on agriculture and water resources. While these two entities are
essential needs of existence, two other entities are also important to support economy and progress of civilization.
They are energy and infrastructure. These impacts are discussed below.

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[2.2.1] Water Resources and Hydrology. Water resources include all entities associated with water bodies, water
flow and hydrology. These include oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and associated factors such as groundwater
table, sea water intrusion, acidity and nutrients. Increasing global temperature and shift in climate patterns are
associated with change in precipitation patterns and hydrological cycle.
IPCC reports that precipitation over tropical land areas (30 °S to 30 °N) has increased in the first decade of 21st
century. The study also projects that for each degree of global warming approximately 7% of global population
would face 20% shortage in renewable water resources. Environmental Protection Agency of United States
observes a 30% greater rainfall during the 1% of intense storms. Heavy precipitation during extreme events
increases run-off, strips nutrients, erodes sediments and washes wastes from the surface.
Approximately 1.4% of earth’s water is in form of snow – a non-brackish water source. Due to global warming,
this melts into the sea. A study by University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) shows that 45 out
of 200 world’s largest rivers show downward trend in river discharge during 1948-2004. A study by Beijing
Normal University, China, finds that global evapotranspiration over land has increased during 1982-2002, at a
rate of 0.6 Wm-2
(0.021 mm day-1
).
[2.2.2] Food and Agriculture. Agriculture is important to be studied because it is the main source of food for
people and it provides primary livelihood for 36% of world’s total workforce. The share is higher in developing
economies. According to Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations, over two-thirds or approximately
67% of workforce in sub-Saharan Africa is dependent on agriculture, and 40-50% in Asia and Pacific regions.
Agricultural risk would not only reduce crop yield but also leave those people jobless.
IPCC reports crops would suffer a negative sensitivity at temperatures around 30 °C. Agricultural yield of wheat,
maize and rice are projected to significantly fall before 2050. Food Production depends on agricultural yield, and
agricultural yield depends on local and regional weather factors. This includes precipitation, surface temperature
and soil drought. The impact on agricultural yield will be more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa, and rice-
growing areas of Southeast Asia, Central and South America. During 2001-2010, World Food Programme (WFP)
spent 23 billion USD on emergency and recovery operations caused by climate related disasters. The risk of
hunger and malnutrition is expected to increase by up to 20% due to climate shocks. During 2010-2015, roughly
40% of WFP’s operations included activities to reduce disaster risk and build resilience.
According to EPA, food and agriculture related industries accounts to over $750 billion of the gross domestic
product in the United States. The federal environment agency also states that high levels of carbon dioxide has
been associated with reduced protein and nitrogen content in alfalfa and soybean plants. This reduced grain and
forage quality reduces the ability of pasture and rangeland to support grazing livestock. Extreme temperatures can
affect crops adversely; one such instance is Michigan cherry loss in 2012 which is valued at 220 million USD.
The federal agency also states that weeds, pests and fungi thrive under warmer temperatures against which US
farmers spend more than 11 billion USD annually.
Another event where temperature impact on crop yield is evident is European heat wave in 2004. Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations reports that crop yields dropped significantly during the event
where temperature rose 6 °C above the long-term means. Italy witnessed 36% drop in maize yield, France
witnessed 25% drop in fruit and 30% in forage.
[2.2.3] Energy. Energy sector is majorly comprised of three entities: Building, Transport and Industry. In this
context, this is discussed with more relevance to building electricity and transport fuel, since these two are
dominant consumers of energy. Building energy constitutes electrical appliances used in residential and
commercial centers. This includes air conditioning, washer and dryer, induction cooking, gardening mowers et
cetera. Transport Energy constitute passenger and commodity transport in land, water and air media. The

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consequences of climate change, which loosely translates to rise in temperature and sea level, would shift
electricity production, transmission, distribution and consumption.
As ambient temperature rises, the energy consumed for indoor air conditioning increases. As a result, the energy
consumed for heating indoors would decrease and the energy consumed for cooling indoors would increase in the
future. East Asian countries, where more than one-third of global population lives, tend to have warmer climate,
and hence the energy for air conditioning rapidly increases. In contrast, for the colder western countries the
energy demand for air conditioning decreases. This is underlined by the fact that climate change increases
extreme weather events which increases air conditioning energy demand for both warmer eastern countries and
colder western countries.
An energy study by Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Norway, reports that 1 °C
increase in temperature raises energy consumption by 5%. 1 °C change in temperature will change the energy
demand by 2 kWh per year per capita in hotter days, and by 8 kWh per year per capita in colder days. Another
study sponsored by Edison Electric Institute has found that 1.0-1.4 °C increase in temperature, in United States, in
the year 2010, increases the energy demand by 9-19% above the estimated capacity. In developing countries,
however, increase in temperature would result in lesser per capita consumption but higher gross consumption.
IPCC reports that, in the year 2010, over 53% of global oil consumption was used to meet 94% of total transport
energy. According to stabilization of wedges, a strategic climate mitigation strategy by Princeton University,
doubling the fuel efficiency for 2 billion cars from 30 to 60 mpg can reduce carbon emissions by 1 GtC per year
for the next 50 years. As global mean temperature rises, many vehicles will face overheating and tire burning,
besides consuming more energy for air conditioning.
[2.2.4] Infrastructure. Infrastructure comprises of buildings and structures that support individual life and nation’s
economic activities. In our context, infrastructure stands for housing, transportation including pipeline and mega-
structures such as dams, bridges and electrical grids: the physical infrastructure that support mankind’s daily
needs. These infrastructures are designed for local weather and temperature and can withstand limited climate
extremes. As climate change increases the frequency and severity of exceptional (extreme) events, infrastructure
designed decades ago will fail to meet the desired performance.
The Environmental Protection Agency of United States finds that approximately 60,000 miles of coastal roads in
United States are exposed to flooding from coastal storms and high waves. The National Climate Assessment of
United States, in the year 2008, finds that 2,400 miles of major roadway in Gulf Coast will submerge if oceans
rise by 4 feet. In addition, the other infrastructures that will submerge include 246 miles of railways and 3
airports. The report also adds that about 4.6 million people in Florida would have to relocate due to an expected
electric power damage. Another worrisome fact is Hurricane Sandy which released 11 billion gallons of sewage
into flood run-offs. Another study indicates that Sweden must spend 2.6 billion USD on road infrastructure by
2050 to adapt to climate change, and likewise, Italy 1.5 billion USD.
[2.3] Secondary Impacts: Civilization Progress
Besides the primary impacts, climate change has negative impacts on natural and artificial entities essential for
civilization growth and progress. The impact on natural systems include wildlife, aquatic life, glaciers, coral reefs,
the impact on socio economic systems include population distribution, economic development, national resource
consumption, international trade, economic migration et cetera.
It is evident that global warming melts ice glaciers and polar snow. Not only this increases sea level but this also
decreases surface albedo, as glaciers and polar snow has positive feedback on earth. World Wide Fund for Nature,
a United Kingdom based non-governmental organization reports that if global warming continues at the current

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rate only 5% of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest coral reef – would remain in existence.
Another significant impact of climate change is that fish population is predicted to reduce and their breeding areas
are said to redistribute. Increase in global carbon dioxide concentration, increases carbon dioxide content in sea
water. This in turn lowers pH of sea water and increases its acidity. Coral reefs and aquatic lives are vulnerable at
low pH, hence they cannot thrive – and may even become extinct – if greenhouse gas emissions continues to
increase at current rate.

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[3] INTERGOVERNMENTAL ACTIONS
[3.1] Overview: Collective Action
The previous chapter discussed about the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and climate
change. In this chapter, the policies or the regulatory actions against climate change are discussed. The policies
are targeted at both reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the climate change.
In the last decade of twentieth century, developed nations became serious about the impacts of climate change. In
1992, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed in Rio de Janeiro aimed
at preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with climate system. The framework set rules on how to
negotiate international treaties. It neither specified the emission limits nor how to achieve them.
UNFCCC defines climate change as ‘change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity
that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable time periods.’ The key point to be noted here is that only human interference is
accounted in the climate change action, and not the natural variations which itself varies over the course of the
time.
[3.2] Intergovernmental Treaty: Mitigating Climate Change
[3.2.1] Earth Summit, 1992. An international treaty was signed in Rio de Janerio (Brazil), in the year 1992, with
an aim to conserve environment. A conference called United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) was instituted by United Nations. It is also known as Earth Summit. More than 130
nations signed a Convention on Climate Change. The treaty also included Convention on Biodiversity, and
Convention on Desertification.
The objective of Earth Summit is four-fold: to scrutinize the production of toxic components such as lead, to
replace fossil fuels by alternative sources of energy in the wake of climate change, to encourage public
transportation in a move against vehicle emissions, to bring an awareness about water scarcity.
For the first time, United Nations had spread awareness about climate change. It predicted that global temperature
would rise by 1.5-4.5 °C by mid-21st century. The convention was established to create awareness about climate
change. It did not specify any fixed targets for carbon dioxide emissions. United States, by itself, committed to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7-10% by 2000. However, whether it withheld the commitment is uncertain.
A Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was established by United Nations to oversee the outcomes of
Earth Summit. The commission found that the major challenges for rigorous implementation of regulatory actions
were poverty, inequality and declining access to fresh water. Nevertheless, the treaty was one of the notable
intergovernmental action on climate change and sustainability.
[3.2.2] Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1994. The objective of United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a
level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The convention
emphasized developed countries, roughly the members of Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2000. The OECD countries are also
called Annex-I countries.
The outcomes of UNFCCC introduced significant actions on reduction of greenhouse gases and climate change.
According to the treaty, industrialized countries would thenceforth report their greenhouse gas emissions
inventory, and report their planned regulatory actions against climate change. Similarly, developing countries
(non-Annex-I countries) would have to report the emissions and actions in generalized terms and less regularly

11. Page 11/16
than Annex-I countries. In addition, for the least developed countries, UNFCCC assured funds for reporting their
greenhouse gas emissions.
[3.2.3] Kyoto Protocol, 1997. An international treaty was signed in Kyoto (Japan) in the year 1997 with an aim to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The protocol was a part of UNFCCC and known as Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto
Protocol is perceived as an amendment to UNFCCC with stricter targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
control global warming especially targeting world’s leading economies. They were also the highest emitters of
greenhouse gases by per capita emissions. The six gases regulated under the protocol were carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons. These gases were selected
on basis of their degree of controllability. For instance, water vapor is a greenhouse gas but its generation and
control is beyond nation’s control.
The objective of Kyoto Protocol is the same as UNFCCC, the difference lies at establishing emission targets and
accomplishing those targets. The protocol requires Annex-I countries to reduce the combined greenhouse gas
emissions by 5% below 1990 levels during 2008-2010. European Union committed to reduce 8% below 1990
levels, Canada 6% and United States 7%. In contrast, Australia and Norway were allowed to emit up to 8% and
1% respectively above the 1990 levels. The protocol also had flexibility by advocating three mechanisms:
international emissions trading, clean development mechanism and joint implementation, as an alternative to
greenhouse gas emission reduction.
The outcome of Kyoto Protocol was not very successful; indeed, it is disappointing. By the end of 2012, the
amount of greenhouse gases globally were 58% more than 1990 levels. This was not unexpected though.
Although United States signed the protocol in the global treaty, the agreement did not pass through its local
Senate. The reasons were complicated. Hence United States failed at commissioning the abatement strategies. In
2012, Canada, Japan and Russia withdrew from the protocol stating that they could not further withheld the
targets. Kyoto Protocol did not target developing countries, where much of the population resides and were one of
the highest emitters of greenhouse gases. Kyoto Protocol was an example of ‘top-down’ approach, where the
intergovernmental sets a fixed target for individual countries and parties. Despite the challenges, European Union
continued to withheld the ratification and commissioned the abatement strategies in its territory.
[3.2.4] Paris Agreement, 2016. An agreement was signed in New York (US), in the year 2016, with an aim to
combat climate change. The agreement was proposed in Paris (France) by UNFCCC, and it was signed by 194
countries, of which 135 have ratified it. The agreement is referred to COP21, acronym for 21st session of the
Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC. The agreement requires nations to set ambitious targets to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and to make progress over time. Paris Agreement is a ‘bottom-up’ approach, where
instead of an intergovernmental organization (a global body), individual countries (local bodies) set self-voluntary
targets commensurate to their abilities. This is also referred to as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
The agreement requires nations to start implementing the actions from 2018. Their progresses would be reviewed
every five years, starting from 2023.
The main objective of Paris Agreement is to control the temperature rise in 21st century well below 2 °C above
pre-industrial levels, and to take action to contain it within 1.5 °C. The secondary objective is to increase its
ability to adapt to adverse impacts of climate change, to lower greenhouse gas emissions to a level that does not
threaten food production, and to make finance flows consistent with reducing greenhouse gas emissions. NDCs
vary for each individual nation: China has agreed to reduce greenhouse emissions by 20.09%, United States by
17.89%, Russia by 7.53% and India by 4.10%.
The outcome of Paris Agreement is yet to be witnessed. However, UNFCCC is expecting countries to consider
seriously, since scientists have asserted that temperature rise beyond 2 °C would change climate beyond
civilization’s adaptive capacity.

12. Page 12/16
[3.2.5] Montreal Protocol, 1989. An international treaty was signed in Montreal (Canada), in the year 1989, with
an aim to protect stratospheric ozone layer and phase out ozone-depleting substances. The main objective of this
protocol is not to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. However, this treaty indirectly regulates the powerful
greenhouse gas, the chlorofluorocarbons, since they were the main ozone sink. The protocol was signed by 197
parties which include 196 states and European Union.
The objective of Montreal Protocol is to phase-out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in a structured annual reduction.
Although Montreal Protocol was aimed at phasing out ozone depleting substances, it is perceived as an indirect
greenhouse gas reduction policy because chlorofluorocarbon is a greenhouse gas. The subsequent extension to the
protocol, in 2013, was proposed to phase out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), another powerful greenhouse
gas. However, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a halogenated carbon and powerful greenhouse gas, is not covered in
the Montreal Protocol. It is covered under Kyoto Protocol.
The outcome of Montreal Protocol was the complete phase-out of CFCs. Its atmospheric concentration has
significantly decreased since 1992. In addition, HCFCs have recently gained attention; they are being phased out
since 2013, and HFCs since 2016.

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[Annexure-A1] REFERENCES
Note: The URLs provided are functioning during submission of this work (March 23, 2017).
[1] INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE – UNITED NATIONS
ASSESSMENT REPORT-5
[1.1] IPCC, 2013: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I
to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin,
G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)].
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1535 pp.
[1.2] IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and
Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D.
Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N.
Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L.White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1132 pp.
[1.3] IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group
III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R.
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in ten countries through 2100." Procedia Engineering 78 (2014): 306-316. URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.07.072

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[Annexure-A2] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
[1] Dr. Chang-Yu Wu
Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering and Sciences
Head, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida.
[2] Dr. Barron Henderson
Physical Scientist, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards,
Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park
Durham, North Carolina.
Former Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering and Sciences
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida.