VIEWS ON GLOBAL WARMING

Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.

Total greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.

There are different views over what the appropriate policy response to climate change should be. These competing views weigh the benefits of limiting emissions of greenhouse gases against the costs. In general, it seems likely that climate change will impose greater damages and risks in poorer regions.

POLITICS

Developing and developed countries have made different arguments over who should bear the burden of costs for cutting emissions. Developing countries often concentrate on per capita emissions, that is, the total emissions of a country divided by its population. Per capita emissions in the industrialized countries are typically as much as ten times the average in developing countries. This is used to make the argument that the real problem of climate change is due to the profligate and unsustainable lifestyles of those living in rich countries. On the other hand, commentators from developed countries more often point out that it is total emissions that matter. In 2008, developing countries made up around half of the world's total emissions of CO₂ from cement production and fossil fuel use.

 The Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in 2005, sets legally binding emission limitations for most developed countries. Developing countries are not subject to limitations. This exemption led the U.S. (under President George W. Bush) and a previous Australian Government to decide not to ratify the treaty. At the time, almost all world leaders expressed their disappointment over President Bush's decision. Australia has since ratified the Kyoto protocol.

PUBLIC OPINION

In 2007–2008 Gallup Polls surveyed 127 countries. Over a third of the world's population was unaware of global warming, with people in developing countries less aware than those in developed, and those in Africa the least aware. Of those aware, Latin America leads in belief that temperature changes are a result of human activities while Africa, parts of Asia and the Middle East, and a few countries from the Former Soviet Union lead in the opposite belief. In the Western world, opinions over the concept and the appropriate responses are divided. Nick Pigeon of Cardiff University finds that "results show the different stages of engagement about global warming on each side of the Atlantic"; where Europe debates the appropriate responses while the United States debates whether climate change is happening.

OTHER VIEWS

Most scientists accept that humans are contributing to observed climate change. National science academies have called on world leaders for policies to cut global emissions. There are, however, some scientists and non-scientists who question aspects of climate change science.

Organizations such as the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, conservative commentators, and companies such as ExxonMobil have challenged IPCC climate change scenarios, funded scientists who disagree with the scientific consensus, and provided their own projections of the economic cost of stricter controls. Environmental organizations and public figures have emphasized changes in the current climate and the risks they entail, while promoting adaptation to changes in infrastructural needs and emissions reductions. Some fossil fuel companies have scaled back their efforts in recent years, or called for policies to reduce global warming.