The Study of Kyoto Protocol Effectiveness in Eliminating Green House Gases Emission (from an Environmental Economics Point of View)

Global warming and climate change have been one of the most important environmental problem in recent decades. This has been generated by greenhouse gases emission resulting from fossil fuel combustion. The formation of various environmental conventions, including Kyoto Protocol, as a reaction implies the importance of these environmental issues. The said protocol is one of the most important agreements regarding climate change in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main reason of global warming in recent decades. This protocol obliged the developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while exempting developing countries. In this study, we analyze some stylized facts about greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane/nitrogen) emission member state countries including Iran. By dividing countries to three main categories, i.e. all the countries, developed and developing countries, we then try to assess the Kyoto protocol effectiveness on eliminating greenhouse gases emission through the period of 1990-2012, pending on the availability of data. We have estimated our basic model by Panel data (GMM) technique. The results imply that although developed countries have tried to comply with their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide, we are still facing the global trend of increasing production and emission. However, according to methane dioxide and nitrogen oxide, the results of our study indicate a reduction in the emissions of both gases in the three groups of protocol countries.