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Track global public opinion on current issues.
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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Americans Oppose Signing Kyoto Protocol
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States would disagree with their government ratifying an international treaty seeking to reduce global pollution, according to a poll by Zogby Interactive released by UPI. 47.9 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should not sign the Kyoto Protocol.
In 1998, several countries agreed to the Kyoto Protocol, a proposed amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement commits nations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The U.S. has not ratified the treaty, which is due to expire in 2012.
The term global warming refers to an increase of the Earth's average temperature. Some theories say that climate change might be the result of human-generated carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Earlier this year, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report which states that global warming has been "very likely"—or 90 per cent certain—caused by humans burning fossil fuels.
In June 2005, U.S. president George W. Bush defended his decision not to adhere to the protocol, saying, "Kyoto would have wrecked our economy. I couldn't in good faith have signed Kyoto."
Last month, Bush declared while at the G-8 summit that his country would be a driving force in setting standards for curbing climate change, adding, "The U.S. will be actively involved, if not taking the lead, in a post-Kyoto framework, a post-Kyoto deal."
Polling Data
Do you think the United States should ratify the Kyoto Protocol?
Yes | 34.6% |
No | 47.9% |
Not sure | 16.7% |
Source: Zogby Interactive / UPI
Methodology: Online interviews with 8,300 American adults, conducted from Jun. 15 to Jun. 18, 2007. Margin of error is 1.1 per cent.