Global climate change admits to the fact that the climate is rapidly shifting due to increased human activities. In this case, climate change comprises of warmer weather, drought, severe storms and even rising sea level. The earth’s atmosphere is comprised of various gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and even nitrogen. They form a blanket like structure which allows the sun’s light to pass through but at the same time intensify its heating effect through trapping significant portion of heat. Global warming is caused by different factors that fall into natural or anthropogenic effects (nasa.gov, 2017). Scientists, who argue that global warming is real, often focus their proof on changing levels of atmospheric gases in addition to the ocean level. According to NASA, for the last 1300 years, the world had never gone through a higher global warming as is experiencing today. Based on the World Meteorological Organisation, global warming is about 1.2 C above the pre-industrial level.
The developing countries will benefit significantly from combating global climate change because; they will be able to put a limitation on natural disasters that often, destroy both life and material wealth within their borders. Further, combating climate change is social responsible. It well aligns with the interests of foreign investors who then become likely to increasingly invest in developing countries, ultimately causing the creation of more job opportunities (Mendelsohn, 2005). However, still in the developing world, the cost of combating climate change will cause the declination of industrial productivity since considerable numbers of local greenhouse gas emitting factories will have had to be shut down. In addition to this, the cost will also entail higher energy prices for all the traditional carbon-based fuel making it expensive to drive car and heat homes in these countries, resulting in an increase of the cost of living within their borders. On the other hand, combating global climate change in industrialized countries would lead to improved quality of life and to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Higher gasoline prices are also likely to come, as part of the cost of combating climate change in the developed world. In this case, increased gas and oil prices would be the most effective strategy to lower overall consumption of carbon-based fuels ( Avi-Yonah & Uhlmann, 2009).
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In the environmental law as outlined within Kyoto protocol, is the United Nation Treaty’s amendment to address the global warming and has contributed significantly towards implementation of the environmental control. The primary goal of Kyoto Protocol is to lower overall greenhouse emission from the industrialized countries mainly on the following major gases, PFCs, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, HFCs, methane, and sulfur hexafluoride (Mendelsohn, 2005). Countries work under the Kyoto protocol’s umbrella to ensure that companies lower greenhouse gas emission throughout their production processes. According to Mendelsohn (2005), the focus was to cut greenhouse gas level by about 5 percent lower than previously measured levels. Implementation of Kyoto Protocol will help avoid disasters caused by changing weather conditions such as tsunami, relocations, loss of life and destruction of infrastructures.
However, the Kyoto Protocol was not fully enacted, and its objection was as a result of the economic penalties that would have been assessed on the nations trying to lower their level of greenhouse gas emission. Such penalties include substantial upfront costs to acquire new technologies to reduce discharge, loss of economic opportunity due to shutting down of facilities that might not be upgraded and increasing energy production costs (europa.eu, 2016). Based on the fact that Kyoto Protocol only required few countries globally to cut greenhouse gas emission, the economic loss as a result of the relocation of polluters to other states that were exempt was considered as a significant concern. The main reason for the failure of Kyoto Protocol was due to its ineffectiveness. The policy created the uneven economic burden on the developed countries while setting different standards for the developing nations.
The policy change proposed in the stabilization of global climate is the tax credit. As a result of rapid climate change and global warming, carbon tax credit is the most appropriate mitigation policy that will address these challenges. In using this policy changes, it is clear that the rates of emission of carbon dioxide and methane will be reduced. europa.eu (2016) notes that carbon tax credit is the best policy that would ultimately leverage the developed industrial countries technologically and economically and at the same time offer an incentive to lower greenhouse gases emission presenting burden on economies. Tax credits for the implementation of green technologies would create an economic pressure for polluting companies to invest in cleaner technologies and adopt better production strategies while creating new job opportunities thus creating a win situation for the economy and climate control ( Avi-Yonah & Uhlmann, 2009). The policy in the developing nations would further bring potential foreign investors seeking profit on new technologies rather than speculators trading CO2 permits.
In conclusion, preparing for the rapidly changing climate is a critical step towards eliminating global warming. Global warming is showing greater signs in various ways including melting of the frozen water bodies, ocean acidity, increasing ocean and earth temperatures to rising water levels. There is the need for appropriate mitigation policy that will address these challenges such as carbon tax, and Carbon Sequestration will be useful in combating the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute immensely to global climate change. Carbon tax credit has been shown to be a suitable policy to address the problem that adds to the emission of greenhouse gas and would at the same time generate revenues back into the economy for greener future.
References
Avi-Yonah, R. S., & Uhlmann, D. M. (2009). Combating global climate change: Why a carbon tax is a better response to global warming than cap and trade.
europa.eu (2016). Climate change policies. Retrieved from https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate/policy-context
Mendelsohn, R., (2005). An Economist's View of the Kyoto Climate Treaty. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4504298
nasa.gov (2017). A blanket around the Earth . Retrieved from
https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/
