Changes

Point #1 has become very widely accepted in the past few decades, even by conservatives who were once skeptical.

Point #1 has become very widely accepted in the past few decades, even by conservatives who were once skeptical.

Points #2 and #3 are debated in the political community. Both climate change itself, and actions that would be taken to combat it, would have enormous economic effects with identifiable winners and losers, resulting in an intense debate. For example, since the industrialized nations emit most of the CO₂, if it were agreed that these emissions needed to be reduced sharply, the burden would fall much more heavily on these nations than on undeveloped nations.

Point #2 is more controversial, although widely accepted by scientists. Point #3 is the most controversial, and is what the political and international debate are about. Both climate change itself, and the very large-scale actions that are proposed to combat it, would have enormous economic effects with identifiable winners and losers, resulting in an intense debate. For example, since the industrialized nations emit most of the CO₂, if it were agreed that these emissions needed to be reduced sharply, the burden would fall much more heavily on these nations than on undeveloped nations.

Al Gore, Vice President under President Clinton from 1992 to 2000, is a high profile advocate of the full global warming theory.  Promoters of this theory, including many prominent scientists, call for international treaties, like one proposed in Kyoto, Japan, to limit carbon emissions using a combination of conservation and technological innovation.

Al Gore, Vice President under President Clinton from 1992 to 2000, is a high profile advocate of the full global warming theory.  Promoters of this theory, including many prominent scientists, call for international treaties, like one proposed in Kyoto, Japan, to limit carbon emissions using a combination of conservation and technological innovation.