After years of delays, the Kyoto global warming pact is now in effect, requiring dozens of industrial nations to reduce emissions of “greenhouse” gases believed linked to climate change.
The agreement, negotiated in the Japanese city of Kyoto in 1997 and ratified by 140 nations, calls on 35 industrialized countries to rein in the release of carbon dioxide and five other gases from the burning of oil and coal and other processes.
Its impact, however, will be limited by the absence of the United States, the world’s leader in greenhouse gas emissions. Australia has also rejected the plan.
The gases are believed to trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to rising global temperatures that are melting glaciers, raising ocean levels and threatening dramatic and potentially damaging climate change in the future.
Check out the Kyoto protocol here. It’s available in: Arabic, English, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Russian.

[Via: 4eco.com(Arabic), Source: CNN]

I’m so excited, finally! Let’s hope more countries will join and that we’ll be experiencing pleasant results soon.