Fostering a Triple Response Mechanism to Combat Global Climate Change: Emission Abatement, Carbon Capture and Water Improvement

Abstract

The Kyoto Protocol has established emission abatement and carbon sink increase to cope with climate change. However, in recent years, developed countries tend to focus more on the former. The simplifying of GHG causes has posed challenges for the understanding of climate change issues and for the development of consequent counter-measures, leading to present controversy and dilemma over mechanisms to combat global climate change. It is held that a desirable global cooperative stance should be “harmonious but differentiated,” i.e., the division of responsibilities and co-operation among the countries should be conducted after the diversities of different countries are recognized in terms of climate change, interests and functions. To meet this end, it is necessary to have UNFCCC play a leading role, under which emission abatement, carbon sink and water cycle improvement are concurrently reinforced. Under this triple mechanism, industrialized countries ought to continue to take the lead in emission abatement, while developing countries, especially those with great potentialities to strengthen carbon sink and water conservancy, ought to conduct ecological preservation and to develop hydraulic capacity so as to strengthen the natural carbon cycle and water cycle to combat climatic impacts.

Keywords

climate change / Kyoto Protocol / emission reduction / carbon cycle / water cycle

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2014 Higher Education Press and Thomson Reuters