EFFORTS TO CONTROL GLOBAL WARMING

Responding to the challenge of controlling global warming will require fundamental changes in energy production, transportation, industry, government policies, and development strategies around the world. These changes take time. The challenge today is managing the impacts that cannot be avoided while taking steps to prevent more severe impacts in the future.

Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, also called greenhouse gas mitigation, is a necessary strategy for controlling global warming. There are two major approaches to slowing the buildup of greenhouse gases. One is to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The other is to keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by storing the gas or its carbon component somewhere else, a strategy known as carbon sequestration or carbon capture.
Carbon Capture
One way to keep carbon dioxide emissions from reaching the atmosphere is to preserve and plant more trees. Trees, especially young and fast-growing ones, soak up a great deal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store carbon atoms in new wood
Energy Sources
Significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions can only be achieved by switching away from fossil-fuel energy sources. Nuclear power plants release no carbon dioxide at all, but nuclear energy is controversial for reasons of safety, security, and the high costs of nuclear waste disposal. Solar power, wind power, and hydrogen fuel cells also emit no greenhouse gases. These energy sources can be practical, low-pollution alternatives to fossil fuels.Other alternatives include fuels made from plants, such as biodiesel (made from used and new vegetable oil) and ethanol (a plant-based gasoline additive). Use of these fuels can help reduce total carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. The hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), which uses both an electric motor and a gasoline or diesel engine, emits less carbon dioxide than conventional automobiles
International AgreementsInternational cooperation is required for the successful reduction of greenhouse gases. The first international conference addressing the issue was held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, informally known as the Earth Summit, 150 countries pledged to confront the problem of greenhouse gases by signing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). To date, more than 180 nations have ratified the UNFCCC, which commits nations to stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would avoid dangerous human interference with the climate
In 1997 in Japan, 160 nations drafted an agreement known as the Kyōto Protocol, an amendment to the UNFCCC. This treaty set mandatory targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Industrialized nations that ratify the treaty are required to cut their emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels. This reduction is to be achieved no later than 2012, and commitments to start achieving the targets are to begin in 2008. Developing nations are not required to commit to mandatory reductions in emissions. Under the Kyōto rules, industrialized nations are expected to take the first steps because they are responsible for most emissions to date and have more resources to devote to emissions-reduction efforts

In 2007 the European Union (EU) took the initiative in coming up with a new international plan to address global warming. At a “green summit” held in March, the 27 nations of the EU
In the accord EU leaders agreed to reduce emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020

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