IB8900505-12-06Congressional Research Service
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The Library of Congress
Global Climate Change
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UMMARY
There is concern that human activities areaffecting the heat/energy-exchange balancebetween Earth, the atmosphere, and space, andinducing global climate change, often termed“global warming.” Human activities, particu-larly the burning of fossil fuels, have contrib-uted to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO
2
) and other trace greenhouse gases. If these gases continue to accumulate in theatmosphere at current rates, most scientistsbelieve significant global warming wouldoccur through intensification of Earth’s natu-ral heat-trapping “greenhouse effect.” Possi-ble impacts might be seen as both positive andnegative, depending on regional or nationalvariations.A warmer climate would probably havefar-reaching effects on agriculture and for-estry, managed and unmanaged ecosystems,including natural habitats, human health,water resources, and sea level, depending onclimate responses. Although causal relation-ships between projected long-range globalclimate trends and record-setting warmth andsevere weather events of the past two decadeshave not been firmly established, attention hasbeen focused on possible extremes of climatechange and the need for better understandingof climate processes to improve climate modelprojections.The basic policy question remains:Given scientific uncertainties about the mag-nitude, timing, rate, and regionalconsequences of potential climatic change,what are the appropriate responses for U.S.and world decision makers?Fossil-fuel combustion is the primarysource of CO
2
emissions, and also emits other“greenhouse” gases. Because the U.S. econ-omy is so dependent upon energy, and somuch of U.S. energy is derived from fossilfuels, reducing these emissions poses majorchallenges and controversy.The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),which the United States has ratified, called fora “non-binding” voluntary aim for industrial-ized countries to control atmospheric concen-trations of greenhouse gases by stabilizingtheir emissions at 1990 levels by the year2000. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol to theUNFCCC goes further, and commits themajor industrialized nations that have ratifiedit to specified, legally binding emissionsreductions. On February 16, 2005, the KyotoProtocol entered into force. According to theUNFCCC Secretariat, as of February 6, 2006,160 nations and economic regional integrationorganizations had ratified the Protocol. TheEuropean Union instituted its emissions trad-ing system under the Protocol at the begin-ning of 2005.In March 2001, the Bush Administrationrejected the Kyoto Protocol, and thus theUnited States is not party to it (and thereforeis not subject to its requirements) as it entersinto force. President Bush concluded acabinet-level climate policy review with anannouncement in 2002 of a “new approach”for the United States based on reducing thegreenhouse gas intensity (greenhouse gasemissions per unit of GDP) of the U.S. econ-omy.This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations,and congressional activity focused specificallyon climate change.
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