ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the suggested causes and probable effects on environment and society of anticipated climate change. Scientific research to date has firmly established the risk of catastrophic consequences from future climate warming. The establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is symbolic of a major broadening of the international climate warming agenda from basic research to preventive policy action. The causes of climatic change are complex and there are many theories and possible mechanisms. Like a window pane in a greenhouse, a number of gases in the earth’s atmosphere let solar radiation pass to the surface of the earth while trapping infrared radiation, also known as heat radiation, that is re-emitted by the surface of the earth. Trace gases fall into three categories: radiatively active trace gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, ozone; chemically/ photochemically active trace gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide; and aerosol emissions.
