Concern over climate change has prompted proposals to mandate reductions in industrial emissions of greenhouse gases which are closely associated with the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Through the process of Globalization these fossil fuels release dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. In addition, certain products such as vehicles are notorious for their inefficient combustion cycles that also release comparable amounts of certain greenhouse gases into the air. Moreover, emissions from agricultural practices, land use change and forestry, and other industrial activities have led to dramatic increases in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases since pre-industrial times. Such measures may well have significant impacts on economic activity throughout the world because of cost and enforcing changes without impacting jobs and burdening already developed countries. The world negotiated the Kyoto Protocol in December of 1997; the result of a process that began by a United Nations led conference in the early 90's. Since then, questions have been raised regarding quota's, energy trade, and the financing of third world countries; the debate for ratification among the negotiating countries has been ongoing because there are reasonable amounts of disadvantages within the Protocol.
The protocol itself calls for the thirty-eight industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of six major greenhouse gases by 5.2 percent, from levels recorded in 1990, during the 2008-2012 period. Combined, these gases greatly increase the ability of our atmosphere to trap the sun's energy as it attempts exit past our ozone layer. This effect has been given the presently familiar name of Global Warming. Developing nations, such as Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and the Ukraine are - some would say - on equal footing with the largest of industrial nations in the reduction of emissions.
