The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, to “assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change”.
The IPCC made the following conclusions (Fourth report 2007):
The average temperature on Earth, and consequently the Greenhouse Effect, depends on the concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Different scenarios project a temperature increase between 1.8 and 5.4°C over the course of the 21st century.
CO2 concentration increased from 280 to 350 ppmv (parts per million by volume) during the industrial era.
Man is responsible for this increase, mainly through fossil fuel combustion - coal, oil, gas.
Only a massive reduction in emissions could lessen future climate change. (These are carefully chosen words from the IPCC!)
All countries have accepted these conclusions. However, the proposed solutions differ greatly.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, is also an important recognition of the global fight against climate change. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted during the Third Conference of the Parties in 1997 and finally came into force in 2005. It is a key instrument in monitoring GHG emissions in the atmosphere. In signing the Kyoto Protocol, Annexe 1 Countries (industrialised countries) have committed themselves to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, by an average 5.2% compared to 1990 levels, between 2008 and 2012. No binding commitment was required from any other countries. The Kyoto Protocol is implemented through flexible mechanisms such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). Carbon markets, such as the EU Emission Trading Scheme, are based on these mechanisms.
General information http://www.ipcc.ch/
Synthesis Report
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm
