If this continues some island communities will disappear into the sea. A third of the world's population live within 40 miles of the coast. Whole swathes of Britain's east coast could fall victim to rising sea levels. Man risks playing havoc with the world's weather systems. Unless we act now, we will be condemning our children to a world of drought and crop failures, rising seas, mass migration and spreading disease.
Nature is no respecter of boundaries.
This is a global problem demanding a global solution, and the very justification for the Kyoto conference. The main purpose of the conference was for the developed countries to set legally binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions between the years 1990 and 2010. Success was by no means certain. After long and gruelling negotiations, the protocol was agreed on Thursday morning, and will be open for signature in March. For the first time, developed countries, which account for over half the world's greenhouse gas emissions, will commit themselves to legally binding targets.