ABSTRACT
Global climatic change due to increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases has dominated the environmental agenda since the mid 1980s and has engendered considerable international political debate. There is no doubt that over the past 200 years or so, human action has significantly increased the atmospheric concentrations of several gases that are closely related to global temperature. It seems highly likely that these increased concentrations, which are set to continue to build up in the near future, are already affecting global climate, but our poor knowledge and understanding of the workings of the global heat balance make the current and future situation uncertain. Predictions of the climatic nature of the Earth into the next century, and the effects of potential climatic changes on other aspects of the natural and human environment, are thus tentative. However, many of the responses that could ameliorate the impacts of potential climatic change can be argued for on the grounds of their other benefits.
