ABSTRACT
Most industrial countries have signed the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce anthropogenic contributions to climate change. Towards that end, international negotiators proposed the Kyoto Protocol in December 1997, setting targets for emissions reductions for individual countries. For the United States, the Protocol calls for reduction in atmospheric carbon emissions by 7% from the 1990 level by years 2008-2012. This amounts to a challenging, 25 to 30% reduction from “business-as-usual” trend levels (Bruce et al., 1998). This Protocol, though not yet ratified by Congress, has been signed by the President and will continue to be a benchmark for debate.
