They came from big, polluting countries like the U.S. and Russia. They came from tiny island nations like the Bahamas and Samoa. Last week, 2,000 representatives from 150 nations arrived in Kyoto, Japan. They hoped to agree by December 10 on new rules for reducing the release of gases linked to global warming (see The Heat Is On 10/31).
Five years ago, 166 nations agreed to cut back on "greenhouse gases," such as carbon dioxide and methane, that trap heat in the atmosphere. But the agreement does not have legal power, so most nations, including the U.S., are falling short of their goals.
President Clinton said a new U.S. plan would lower our nation's output of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2010. But the European Union, which includes Germany and Britain, wants all the industrial nations to get their gas emissions 15% lower than 1990 levels. The U.S. says that making such deep cuts in so short a time would cost American businesses too much money.
Many island nations say they're already losing ground to rising ocean levels. Some of their land is just 10 feet above sea level. They blame global warming. Said Laurence N. Edwards, from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific: "We are scared, really and truly."