unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (10/11/89)
Forwarded-From : Greenlink
October 7, 1989
U.N. GROUP PRESENTS SOME SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL WARMING
GENEVA (AP) -- A U.N. group on global warming completed work Friday on
a list of possible actions countries could take to control the emission
of gases that cause the so-called greenhouse effect.
The working group, which concluded a weeklong session Friday, did not
make specific recommendations. It simply compiled a list of options
that it will submit to its parent body, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, which is scheduled to meet in February in Washington.
The list was not released.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established last
year by the U.N. Environment Program and the World Meteorological
Organization.
The working group is one of three that are examining the problem of
global warming caused by the greenhouse effect, with the aim of
eventually drafting an international convention on global warming.
According to the greenhouse theory, temperatures around the world are
slowly rising because of a buildup of gases that is allowing sunlight
into the atmosphere but preventing heat from escaping. Although the
theory is widely accepted, scientists differ over whether the
greenhouse effect is causing global warming now or whether that will
happen sometime in the future.
The 43-nation working group discussed "many of the options that would
go into forming a framework agreement" on global warming but did not
actually work on drafting a convention, the chairman, Dr. Frederick
Bernthal of the United States, said at a news conference.
The three main gases thought to cause the greenhouse effect are carbon
dioxide, which is emitted by the burning of fossil fuels; methane,
which comes from a variety of sources including leakage from coal mines
and pipelines; and chloroflourocarbons, or CFCs, used in refrigeration
and aerosol sprays.
A vice chairman of the group, Jiein Luo of China, said that while
emissions from industrialized countries have stabilized, it is
"unavoidable" that those from developing countries will increase. He
said it is therefore necessary to "protect the environment and climate
on the one hand, but on the other hand not to hurt the development of
these economies."
Bernthal said financial assistance and technology transfers from
industrialized countries to the developed world could help solve the
problem, but there is no clear estimate of how much money will be
needed.
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