Why are some governments reluctant to reduce their greenhouse gases?

Answer 1

The answer is primarily three fold.

The first part is that the science, contrary to popular belief is not exactly settled. There is a reluctance to cause massive reductions in food supplies and lifestyles for something that may not actually help any known issue.

The second part is the enormous cost and lifestyle reduction that is being requested by only some countries and not any organized worldwide reduction. It is hard to ask the people of the United States to reduce their lifestyles by 50% while allowing other countries to increase their lifestyle unabated.

The third issue is what the outcome would be if we did reduce. Man produces only a small portion of the total annual output of CO2 (about 3%). Nature creates the rest. Levels of CO2 have been rising fairly consistently for over 10,000 years. The total shutdown of CO2 generation by humans would have only a minimal impact on levels of CO2 yet cause mass reductions in our lives and population levels.

Governments tend to try to avoid doing things that make their voting constituents suffer with very little to show for it.

Answer 2

Some governments may be reluctant to reduce their greenhouse gases because of concerns about negatively impacting their economy, fear of losing competitiveness in the global market, lack of political will, or prioritizing short-term gains over long-term sustainability. Additionally, there may be resistance from certain industries or lobbying groups that benefit from maintaining the status quo.