Foreword: The Road to Copenhagen
International Efforts to Combat Global Warming
This December, representatives of 192 nations will gather in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the latest in a succession of attempts to seek international consensus on a strategy to combat global warming. While global warming remains controversial to some extent, most scientists now agree that human activities — primarily the burning of fossil fuels — are increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere, and that if these gases continue to accumulate at current rates, they will add to the Earth’s natural heat-trapping effect. Depending on climate responses, global warming could have far-reaching consequences for…
