International Efforts to Address Global Warming
As the scientific case for human-induced global climate change grew
more and more compelling over the course of the 1980s, the issue assumed
greater prominence on international community's list of priorities. In 1992, at
the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro over XXXX nations concluded negotiations on
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). This treaty
includes voluntary commitments on the part of developed nations to return
greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. The United States
ratified the UNFCC in 1992 and it entered into force in 1994.
Efforts to
strengthen the UNFCC culminated in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, where
negotiations were concluded on the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCC. The Protocol
sets forth strong greenhouse gas emissions targets for developed countries
combined with elements of flexibility that will allow nations to meet their
targets in a cost-effective manner. Succeeding UN climate change conferences
have focused on fleshing out the operational details of the Protocol. The
United States has been a leader in advocating that the Protocol's rules be both
cost-effective and environmentally sound. In addition, the President has made
clear that he will not submit the Kyoto Protocol to the Senate for its advice
and consent to ratification without meaningful participation from key
developing countries in efforts to address global warming.
Links to
important documents and information on international efforts to address the
challenge of global climate change are located in the righthand navigational bar. | 
