ABSTRACT
Climate change refers to the observation that human activities have come to influence natural processes in the atmosphere. Following the assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the most dominant greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is responsible for 55 per cent of the human contribution to the greenhouse effect. The main emissions result from burning fossil fuels. Each year human beings shift 22 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the earth to the air. Regarding the emission of carbon dioxide, the official statistics report a decrease from 1,014 million tonnes of CO2 in 1990 to 895 million tonnes in 1995. Energy-related emissions are dominant. Their contribution decreased from 987 million tonnes in 1990 to 869 million tonnes in 1995. From 1991 to 1995, the German gross domestic product grew from 1,719 billion US $ to 1,821 billion US $.
