Global climate change is the premier environmental challenge of the 21 st century. There is overwhelming scientific consensus that human activity has begun to affect the climate, and that continuing on our present course may have dire consequences. The United States is fully committed to meeting this challenge, both through strong domestic actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and by working with other nations to achieve agreement on a sound, cost-effective global strategy. The United States looks forward to participating in the Fifth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention in Bonn, Germany. We hope to achieve the progress necessary to ensure that we can complete the important work begun at the 1997 conference in Kyoto.
Desertification is another area where international cooperation is needed.
Dryland degradation, or desertification, is a growing problem that threatens the well-being of millions of people in many parts of the world, and in Africa in particular. The Convention to Combat Desertification seeks to mitigate the effects of dryland degradation and prevent further desertification through collaboration at the local level, and in partnership with communities, NGO's, and national governments. The United States currently spends millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to drought-affected countries and strongly supports the aims of the Convention. We look forward to the upcoming Third Conference of the Parties where, for the first time, countries will present elements of their national action plans and where the debate can focus on methods to alleviate dryland degradation. And finally, we stand behind the Program of Action on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, as adopted at the 1994 Global Conference in Barbados .