The Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) produced families of 21st century greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trajectories that aim to be consistent with current knowledge and span a wide range of plausible futures.

As Parties to the Climate Convention EU Member States have opted for a joint fulfilment of post-2000 greenhouse gas emission reduction obligations. No agreement could be reached on a joint EU target before the distribution of the burden of emission reductions among Member States had been agreed upon. This paper presents a sectoral approach to burden sharing, which incorporates important national circumstances. The three categories distinguished are the power sector, the internationally operating energy-intensive industry and the remaining domestically oriented sectors.

Global climate change is today a spectre which allows for no ostriches. Scientific data is piling up to indict human activity as the source of the current phase of warming. The debate is whether the affluent North or the developing South has been more responsible and who will be polluting more in the near future.