Climate-change treaty strengthening urged

Abstract

Delegates from more than 100 countries meeting in Geneva have generally agreed that the climate-change treaty signed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro should be strengthened. The Rio treaty, which goes into effect March 21, calls for industrialized countries to cut back emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2000. Many countries, including the U.S., pointed out at the two-week Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meeting that the terms of the Rio convention are inadequate to stabilize—let alone reduce—the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, most delegations shied away from making specific suggestions on stronger actions to take. Delegates made no major decisions, not even on how to go about changing the treaty. Environmental groups are pushing for a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2005. The INC meeting was the ninth in a series held first to draft the Rio convention, and now to discuss how to ...