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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CONVENTION

Increasing scientific evidence about the possibility of global climate change in the 1980s led to a growing consensus that human activities have been contributing to substantial increases in the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Concerned that anthropogenic increases of emissions enhance the natural greenhouse effect and would result, on average, in an additional warming of the Earth's surface, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. The Panel focused on: assessing scientific information related to the various aspects of climate change; evaluating the environmental and socio-economic impacts of climate change; and formulating response strategies. In 1990, the finalization and adoption of the IPCC report and the Second World Climate Conference focused further attention on climate change.