GREENHOUSE GASES AND GLOBAL WARMING: EMERGING AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES.

Volume : IV, Issue : IV, April - 2015

S. O. Amadi, S. O. Udo

A critical review of issues and challenges of green–house gases and global warming is presented. Inferences were drawn

from a wide spectrum of researches and observations to portray the fact that unprecedented warming of the climate

system in response to human induced emission of green–house gases and aerosols is unequivocal and is putting the

climate system in jeopardy. The mitigation and adaptation measures including the international policy responses to the unprecedented warming

have not been prioritized because of non–binding commitments to many international agreements on ground of economic reasons. The paper

advocates the need for the international community to chart a more equitable and sustainable development path. This requires the need to

redefine and redesign our energy needs with appropriate policies and mechanism to ensure compliance of the provisions and commitments.

The challenge is tremendous in a highly polarized and unequal global economy, currently mired in concerns about debt levels and economic

recession. The issue is worrisome as the ravaging effects of global warning are felt very acutely in the form of climate and weather changes,

droughts, famines, disease epidemics, destruction of wildlife, huge forest fires and devastating floods to mention a few.