THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE CARIBBEAN Sea spawned its first tropical storm in December, an event many thought was likely, but highly improbable. Is this a one-off event or could it be the start of an extended Atlantic Hurricane Season? Many of the world's leading scientists have predicted that such events could become more frequent and even more intense unless the emissions of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide) and the rate of deforestation are reduced significantly.
The United States, despite the urging of its own scientific community, and now the Russian Federation, have stated that they will not ratify the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Frame-work Convention on Climate Change. They are two main players in the negotiation and adoption of this instrument that sets legal binding emission targets for the developed countries.
The U.S. administration's main reason for non-ratification is the absence of targets for the major developing nations (India, China, Brazil, etc.). On the other hand, these developing countries have stated that while they are not opposed to the acceptance of a target, what they oppose is its timing. Since carbon dioxide has a life cycle of about 100 years, then those who started their emission trends at the turn of the last century should take the lead role by acting first.
The consequence of this is that the Protocol cannot enter into force so business continues as usual and the annual emission trends keep increasing. Small developing islands states are the most vulnerable to the potential threats of climate change. However, their total emission rate is less than one per cent of the global average.
I am, etc.,
CLIFFORD MAHLUNG
cmahlung@hotmail.com
Cave Hill campus, UWI
Oxnards, Barbados
Via Go-Jamaica
