The Kyoto compromise. (United Nations' meeting on greenhouse gas emissions produces a treaty that will surely fail to win ratification in the US Senate)(Brief Article)(Editorial)

Economist (US), The, December, 1997

PUT diplomats from 159 countries, plus lobbyists with at least as many agendas-hidden or open-into one place, and the result is bound to be hypocrisy, gamesmanship and sheer nonsense. Such was the case during the negotiations in Kyoto to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, which ended this week. It was not until well past the formal deadline, amid gestures and language that were scarcely diplomatic, that delegates were able to cut a deal. Too bad it will never fly.

The consequences of global warming cannot yet be known but might plausibly be grave. That is why the best outcome from Kyoto would have been a modest, politically workable agreement to curb emissions of greenhouse gases pending further study. Instead of that, the deal that emerged calls on America to cut...

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