The Key to Understanding the Global Warming Fraud

September 01, 2023

by Guy K. Mitchell, Jr. American Thinker

As vice president, Al Gore led the negotiations to establish the U.N. Kyoto Protocol in 1998. The Kyoto Protocol was a “climate treaty” ostensibly designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the signatories during the period 2005–2012 to a level equivalent to 95% of each country’s 1990 emissions. While it did not introduce any new scientific means to reduce CO2 emissions (worldwide CO2 emissions grew by 32% during the period), the Kyoto Protocol introduced a novel economic concept: the trading of carbon credits and offsets.

At first, the concept of trading carbon credits was straightforward; it was known as “cap and trade.” Each country was allocated a level of carbon emissions each year by the signatories to the agreement based on an annual targeted reduction in carbon emissions to reach the goal. If a country or emitter expected to exceed its cap, it could “trade” or buy unused carbon credits from other countries that expected to emit less than their cap. However, if a country failed to meet its emissions target and did not purchase carbon credits, the protocol required it to make up the difference in the second commitment period, with an additional 30% penalty.