But the Tanzanian diplomat said the northern industrial nations must first commit to strong guidelines for reining in their own emissions. Whether the mandates should also apply to Third World governments is just one question in a complex of technical issues that together, if resolved, will add up to an unprecedented global attack on a potential planetary problem. Scientists say the emissions, which allow sunlight to reach Earth but trap the resulting heat in the atmosphere, may boost global average temperatures by up to 6 degrees by 2100, raising ocean levels through heat expansion and abruptly shifting climate zones.
Most emissions stem from the burning of fossil fuels.
Because voluntary emissions restraints in the 1992 treaty were largely ignored, governments began negotiations in 1995 to set legally binding cutbacks. Some industries, particularly in the United States, have fought the idea of mandatory cutbacks, contending they might throw hundreds of thousands out of work in coal fields, the oil industry and elsewhere. A unanimous U.S. Senate resolution, threatening to block the protocol, cites another objection as well - the exemption for Third World nations. The talks from the outset have not targeted the developing world, recognizing that the atmosphere's carbon accumulation is mostly attributable to the industrial North. But the U.S. delegation is demanding new commitments from at least some Third World countries.