While we, in the United States, know from experience that market-based approaches to environmental protection work, we recognize concern about the difficulties of monitoring and measuring reductions. The United States is working to address these concerns by ensuring, for example, that the Kyoto regime has strong reporting and compliance provisions. Those who advocate a 'concrete ceiling' on some of the Kyoto mechanisms, as a practical matter, seek to reopen the Protocol. The issue of whether market mechanisms, especially emissions trading, should be capped was explicitly debated and rejected at Kyoto. Supporters of the caps attempt, in effect, to pocket the aspects of the Kyoto agreement they like and renegotiate the rest.
Climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution.
Developing country populations, unfortunately, have the least capacity to adapt to climate change. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations at acceptable levels and the harder these countries will be hit. To be sure, industrialization in OECD countries contributed enormously to increased greenhouse gas concentrations. These countries, including the United States, must take significant steps. Acting alone, however, developed countries cannot stabilize global greenhouse gas concentrations, much less return them to pre-industrial levels.