Environmental policy

Description

Environmental policy stimulates consumers' mindsets and consequently brings out changes in demands for advertisements.

The total CO2 emission amount in this planet was estimated to be about 26.7 billion tons in 2005 which is higher by 16% than that in 2000. The growth rate was worse than what IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, had considered as the worst scenario. (JACSES 2009)

In 1998, more than 84 countries ratified Kyoto Protocol which targets 5.2% emission reduction from 1990 level in developed countries as a whole by 2012. Each country set its own target: 8% reduction for 15 countries in EU, 6% for Canada and Japan, and 0% for Russia. The agreement was the inception of worldwide governmental activity against global warming.

Being baked up by the Kyoto Protocol, Emission Trading Scheme was considered and put in practice. The ETS enables companies that exceed individual CO2 emissions targets to buy allowances from 'greener' ones to help reach the EU's targets under the Kyoto Protocol. However, pollution credits were grossly overallocated by several countries during the initial implementation phase, forcing down carbon prices and undermining the scheme's credibility, which has prompted the EU to consider toughening up the system.