On December 6, 2004, the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet in Buenos Aires. It is expected that concerns about the consequences of impending climate change will be interspersed with attacks on the United States for being the only major industrialized country not to have ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

The assumption that human emissions of greenhouse gases are altering the climate and are causing significant, irreversible, or harmful effects has been challenged by some climate scientists and applied economists (see the AEI conference on the economic foundations of climate change models held on November 16, 2004, as well as the "Return to Rio" conference on the science and economics of climate change, which was held at AEI on November 19, 2003.

Many of the alleged impacts of climate change already exist; regardless whether these climate shifts are man-made or natural, many policymakers and scholars believe we should pursue policies to reduce the harm being done. These policies, in many ways, stand in stark contrast to the Kyoto approach and focus instead on improving public and environmental health in the countries most susceptible to climate change. It is also shortsighted to assume that there is only one way to pursue emissions reductions--American policy today offers an alternative to the Kyoto approach that is more appealing to the developing world, more realistic for the United States, and in the long run may produce greater emissions reductions and a wider range of environmental benefits.

The following AEI scholars are available for interviews; contact information can be found on their websites:

Roger Bate
Effects of climate change policies on health and development

James K. Glassman
Economic consequences of climate change policies

Steven F. Hayward
Economic modeling of climate change; climate change policies

Joel Schwartz
Air quality measurement, motor vehicle emissions

Samuel Thernstrom
Bush administration climate change policy and the politics of climate change policies