The two countries that would have been required to do something about emissions were the two that initially refused to sign - Australia and the US - on the ostensibly reasonable grounds that because it excluded developing countries, notably India and China, the protocol would have no effect apart from making the countries that signed it feel good. As has been pointed out time and again, before the financial crisis China was building coal-fired electricity plants equivalent to far more than the total Australian generating capacity, each year.
Perhaps we should get China onside? China�s chief contribution to the Kyoto debate so far, has been to demand money in return for cutting their emissions