International response to climate change: an overview

There is a scientific consensus that increasing concentrations of GHGs in the earth's atmosphere have begun to impact our climate and may be the dominant force driving recent warming trends. International efforts to reduce GHG emissions and stabilize atmospheric GHG concentrations have grown apace since the development in 1997 of the Kyoto Protocol under the UN Framework Convention on climate change. There is also considerable international effort aimed at adaptation to the climate change already occurring. This paper presents an overview of the international response for mitigation and adaptation to climate change