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Political History of Global Warming Essay

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Political History of Global Warming

There is a lot of ambiguity surrounding the theory of 'global warming' and the proper political response to it. At the very center of the scientific debate on the variability of global climate is to what extent human activities influence climate change. Another unforeseeable is whether the potential impacts of climate change will be harmful or beneficial for humans, managed agriculture, and natural ecosystems. Some question the authority with which current scientific data has been given in international negotiations on the regulation of greenhouse gases. Others are convinced that immediate actions must be taken to limit the potential effects of excess greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere …show more content…

It signaled the beginning of a new national policy, a diplomatic role in international actions on potential global climate change, and expanded scientific research on these issues.

The first major international studies on global climate change requested were performed by the United Nations. Their first study, which addressed potential global policy considerations, was released for public review and adopted by the U.N. Secretary General at the First World Climate Conference (FWCC) in 1979. For about 10 years after FWCC, ?the science? of global climate change was further studied by the U.N. in order to formulate an international position on how best to approach the issue.

In November 1988, at the request of U.N. members involved in climate change research, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was created. To help assist U.S. involvement with the IPCC, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (GCRP) was established in 1989. In 1990, the IPCC completed the first of a series of recurring international scientific and policy assessments of global climate change. According to the National Climate Program Office, these assessments aimed to ?review scientific knowledge about natural and human-induced climate change and ... provide governments with a sound consensus of scientific evidence on climate change and resulting impact on natural and human systems from which policy options can be developed.?

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