POLICING environment treaties is often a hit-and-miss affair and many a blind eye has been turned. The Kyoto protocol must be different. When its limits on nations’ emissions of greenhouse gases come into force 18 months from now, there will be a desperate need for good science to back up government claims they are meeting their targets, and for good scientists to arbitrate when disputes arise.
Sadly, the necessary systems are not in place. Governments will be left to declare their emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and the four other gases covered by the protocol. They will do this by…
