Foreword

Climate change exists here and now. Not because the climate itself has started changing - although there is evidence that it may already be responding to humanity's greenhouse gas emissions. Rather, the issue of climate change is a reality for today's world because of the actions that the international community has launched to minimize the risks of global warming in the 21st century.

The driving force behind this international campaign is the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Since the Convention entered into force in 1994, governments have been quantifying their national greenhouse gas emissions and developing their climate change strategies. Tougher emissions-control targets, more rigorous national policies, and intensified international cooperation are now at the top of the agenda.

Governments adopted the Convention in response to the dramatic progress scientists have made in understanding how the earth-atmosphere system works. Researchers have concluded that industrial and agricultural emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases threaten to change the climate rapidly over the next 100 years and beyond. This will have dramatic consequences for both people and the environment. Much uncertainty remains, but the message is clear: climate change poses a risk to future generations, and this risk needs to be taken seriously.

While the first steps to combat climate change have been taken, the most difficult decisions still lie ahead. It is not just governments that must act: the Convention will only succeed if it wins widespread support from all sectors of society, including local authorities, non-governmental organizations, industry, communities, and individuals. For policymakers, it means incorporating climate change considerations into their day-to-day and long-term decisions. For corporate executives, it means including the potential costs of both climate change and actions to minimize it in their business and investment calculations. For individual citizens, it means favouring climate-friendly products and services and adopting climate-friendly habits and lifestyles.

Awareness-raising is essential so that people can make informed decisions about this complex issue. The information sheets in the second edition of this dossier are based on the scientific and technical assessment reports of the UNEP/WMO Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and on the Convention process through 1996. This choice of sources and coverage reflects our conviction that knowledge and cooperation are the most powerful tools we have for addressing climate change.

Elizabeth Dowdeswell
Executive Director
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)