A Global Effort
In 1992 the world came together in the city of Rio de Janeiro to address the issue of climate change for one of the first times. An international treaty was developed, which was called the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Treaty established a voluntary agreement to reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000.
As time progressed, the evidence for anthropogenic climate change grew, and it became evident that nations like the United States and Japan could not reach their goal of limiting carbon dioxide emissions. This illustrated the need for a legally binding global treaty to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and help combat climate change. The Kyoto Protocol was developed on December 11, 1997, and went into effect on February 16, 2005.
North America consumed 4,592 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2012. That's the second most of any continent just behind Asia and Oceania at 8,108 billion kWH.
Data courtesy of www.eia.gov.
The World's First Steps Toward A Sustainable Future
President Clinton, signed the treaty, however, the United States Senate refused to ratify it. Some individuals believed that the treaty would be very costly to implement, and that it unfairly targeted developed Nations with harsh regulations, while the requirements for developing nations were much less stringent. The Kyoto Protocol was not effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it started a dialogue about the severity of climate change and its global effects.
In the year the Kyoto protocol was signed the total primary energy consumption for the world was 377 quadrillion Btus. The worlds consumption has increased to 524 quadrillion Btus in the year 2012. That amounts to nearly a 40% increase in energy usage in just 15 years.
Technology for renewable energy sources has vastly improved, making it very economical for people to obtain clean energy. Renewable electricity net generation has nearly doubled from 2746 billion kilowatt hours in 1997 to 4715 billion kilowatt hours in 2012. On our site, you can learn more about solar energy and other ways you can reduce your energy consumption.
