Climate change has been called one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing our planet. Scientific evidence suggests that a substantial part of the global warming that has occurred over the past 100 years can be attributed to human activities.

During the past century, the Earth's average surface temperature rose by about 0.6° C. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) in its second and third assessment reports, noted that only substantial cuts in emissions will allow atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations to stabilize at a level that would "prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system", in order to achieve the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as stated in its Article 2.

The Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC marks a first step towards addressing the serious global threat of climate change. In meeting their commitments under the Convention as well as under the Protocol, countries are taking serious steps to address their own greenhouse gas emissions, and to adapt to the effects of climate change.

In an effort to maintain momentum in dealing with the threat of climate change and its effects, Parties at the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC agreed to discuss actions relating to mitigation and adaptation that can assist them to continue to develop effective and appropriate responses to climate change; and policies and measures adopted by their respective governments that support implementation of their existing commitments under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.

To this end, and as requested by the Conference of the Parties, the secretariat organized a seminar of governmental experts in Bonn, Germany from 16 to 17 May 2005, in conjunction with the sessions of the subsidiary bodies of the Convention.

The secretariat was also requested to make the proceedings available to Parties for their consideration. This CD ROM presents those proceedings; they are also available in a print publication (5 MB).

To view and listen to the full proceedings of the Seminar in English or in original language, please open the UNFCCC web site <unfccc.int>, select Meetings from the left hand navigation and click on COP/SB Archives and then select seminar.