ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the major environmental concerns affecting the global community and the implications they have for multinational corporations at home and abroad. National and international concerns about the environment have increased dramatically over the past decade. Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming by trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere. The earth's environment is protected by a layer of ozone gas in the stratosphere that shields the earth's surface from potentially deadly ultraviolet radiation. Sustainability concerns maintaining a level of production or harvesting that provides a reasonable supply for current consumption. The production, handling, transport, and disposal of hazardous industrial waste have become of serious concern in many countries, given the risks they carry both for the quality of the local environment and for general public health. In an attempt to curb the collective emissions of greenhouse gases in order to achieve cleaner air worldwide, a multination agreement called the Kyoto Protocol.
