The emergence of China as an economic superpower

The Kyoto International Treaty was settled in Kyoto, Japan, starting in 1997 and expiring in 2012. Under the Kyoto agreement, 35 industrialized nations committed to reducing emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. But, only a few of the countries’ greenhouse gas emissions have fallen in the past years.

By far, the United States is the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide and other gases.

Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, said unabated climate changes would eventually cost the world the equivalent of between 5 and 20 percent of global GDP each year.

Do Americans really care about what he says?