WHAT MUST BE DONE TO REDUCE HUMAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT?
The bottom line is that the emissions of greenhouse gases must be reduced. We must develop industrial practices and means of transportation which are less dependent on fossil fuels, and ultimately, manage completely without them. Since the problem is global, the solutions must be international. The international community took a first step in 1992 when the Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed by 167 countries in Rio. The Framework Convention morally committed industrialized countries to stabilizing their emissions of CO2 by the year 2000 at 1990 levels. However, since the 1990 levels of global CO2 emissions enhanced the greenhouse effect, the 1992 agreement is obviously inadequate. Unfortunately, few, if any, of the industrialized countries will even meet this weak target. Consequently, the next step must be to make this commitment legally binding, and to strengthen it through a CO2 Reduction Protocol aimed at meeting the objectives of the Convention. The minimum goal must
