Figuring out the climate for change

Delegates of a round of United Nations-sponsored negotiations on climate change agreed in April that countries have not reduced their emissions of greenhouse gases enough to meet world air-quality goals. Still under negotiation is a decision on what level of emissions reduction is necessary, and how it will be achieved. In the meantime, energy-related industries, environmentalists and others will continue working to influence governments on their energy choices. The April negotiations, held in Berlin, were a follow-up of goals set by the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), which was held in conjunction with the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Natural gas is widely recognized as the bridge fuel to sustainable energy policies, and A.G.A. has participated in the United Nations meetings as a non-governmental organization to represent the gas industry's interests since before the FCCC was signed in Rio. But if natural gas is to reach its potential worldwide market, the industry will need to continue its involvement. The paper discusses greenhouse gas goals for post-2000 and how the natural gas industry can help to achieve them