The U.S. and Turkey: Akin on Kyoto?

pro kyoto protocol protest istanbul photo
Photograph of pro-Kyoto protest in Istanbul via NTVMSNBC.

Though separated by language, culture, religion, and thousands of miles--not to mention attitudes about, say, safety and punctuality--Turkey and the United States have one big thing in common: neither country has ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

Pro-Kyoto protests have increased in Turkey in recent months ahead of next week's Poznan Climate Change Conference in Poland, in which non-ratifying countries will not be able to actively participate. "Although the [Turkish] government sent legislation to Parliament seeking approval of the Kyoto Protocol in June and the bill is waiting at Parliament," Today's Zaman reports, "legislators have so far been too busy to make the issue a priority."

Government officials have been making supportive noises, with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan telling Today's Zaman that "Turkey is determined to meet the requirements of international and regional agreements related to environmental problems." But despite projections of "drastically increased temperatures" by the end of the century, already decreasing rainfall, and high economic losses from flooding and landslides, Turkey has been slow to act.

"Even though the first-ever comprehensive study on climate change in Turkey has shown alarming results," the paper reported earlier this fall, "Turkish institutions have neither adopted significant measures nor produced more studies to better understand the phenomenon." Via: "Turkey may miss out on Poznan climate meetings," Today's Zaman

More on the Kyoto Protocol:
Japan Loses Home-Town Kyoto Advantage With Increased C02 Emissions
Kyoto Protocol Lawsuit Dismissed: Canada Gets to Keep Dragging
Austria Not Pulling its Weight in Meeting Kyoto Objectives
Iraq Again Focuses Attention on U.S., This Time By Ratifying Kyoto
Influencing The Post-Kyoto Framework
China Open To Post-Kyoto Framework
EU's Bold Energy Plan Shames Kyoto Holdouts