ABSTRACT
Environmental issues have moved centre-stage throughout the world, as concern continues to grow over the effects of climate change (cambio climático) and the damage caused by pollution. All countries – no matter what stage of development they may be at – are implicated in this process. Despite the fact that there has been a notable lack of leadership among politicians in the country with the biggest economy in the world, the United States, most political leaders are now committed to instituting changes in order to avoid causing further harm to the environment and in order to deal with the potential damage – in particular, global warming (calentamiento global) – that may be caused in the long term. The Kyoto Protocol (Protocolo de Kioto) of 1997 constituted an attempt to deal with the situation at the international level, while the 2007 Bali Summit (Cumbre de Bali) took the matter a step further by, amongst other things, drawing the USA more fully into the process.
