Environmental policy and the greenhouse effect

Abstract

Emissions, resulting from human activity, are substantially increasing the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. This, in turn, is causing an additional average warming of the Earth's surface. This article presents an overview of recent developments in the international discussion on climate change, taking into account the work of other organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The long term and global character of the climate change problem requires an international long term strategy based on internationally agreed principles such as sustainable development and the precautionary principle. Research is needed to further develop risk assessment and environmental quality standards, from which emission targets can be derived.

As a first step, governments of many industrialized countries have already set provisional national CO₂ emission targets, aimed at stabilization at present levels by the year 2000 and, in some cases, reductions thereafter.

Under the auspices of United Nations, negotiations have begun on an international framework climate convention and associated agreements, on, for example, greenhouse gas emissions, forestry and funding mechanisms. Obligations imposed on individual nations may be expected to reflect their responsibility for greenhouse warming; this paper presents some views on the equity of burden sharing.