In order to develop strategies to best deal with climate change, scientists from around the world need to share data. Many advances in computer technology and data gathering have made this possible. There are a number of types computer models of climate, but the one that reflects the world’s climate the best is called the general circulation model (GCM). GCM’s focus on the mechanisms of thermal energy transfer in the atmosphere, the complex factors that influence them, and how they are changing. These changes obviously have major implications for climate on different parts of Earth.

The Montreal Protocol (1987) CFC’s This was the first international agreement concerning the Earth’s atmosphere! Vive le Montreal!! The Montreal Protocol, signed by 182 countries, controls the production and consumption of substances that can cause ozone depletion. CFC’s are to be phased out and replaced with hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC’s), which destroy the ozone much more slowly than CFC’s. Recall that chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) are substances that deplete the ozone layer.

Image of the largest Antarctic ozone hole ever recorded in September Data taken by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument aboard NASA's Earth Probe satellite.

The rates of phasing out CFC’s and use of HCFC’s on the basis of periodic scientific and technological assessments. The phaseout schedules have been accelerated since the original agreement.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1994) The Convention on Climate Change sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. The Convention enjoys near universal membership, with 189 countries having ratified. Under the Convention, governments:  gather and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies and best practices  launch national strategies for addressing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to expected impacts, including the provision of financial and technological support to developing countries  cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change

The Kyoto Protocol (1998) The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year But note that, compared to the emissions levels that would be expected by 2010 without the Protocol, this target represents a 29% cut. Emission-Reduction Credits  These are given to a country for taking actions that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases.  Countries receive credits through various shared "clean energy" programs and "carbon dioxide sinks" in the form of forests and other systems that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The aim was to generate serious commitments for industrialized countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and to leave some room for developing countries to increase their energy use (which they need to grow their economies) but with the provision that they too will face restrictions in the not-too-distant future.

Most countries in the world have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The United States is a notable exception, and that might be one of the reasons why the Kyoto Protocol is such a large issue in the media.

There is much concern however that the carbon will not remain captive, and would leak back into the atmosphere over a span of decades or centuries. Carbon dioxide sequestering is the process capturing the exhaust from a fossil fuel combustion and pumping it back into earth. The increase in pressure can be used to enhance the extraction of additional fossil fuel in nearby wells. Hello? Anyone down there? *cough cough*

read pages 419 – 425 D3.2 Check and Reflect page 425 #’s 1 – 13