"Africa's participation [in international negotiation for a framework convention on climate
change] is of vital importance
But Africa must negotiate with
knowledge."
- G.O.P. Obasi
World Meteorological
Organization, Geneva
political, and economic relevance. Currently there are no conventional pollution
control measures to reduce emissions from the major sources of greenhouse gases:
emissions can only be reduced by reducing the level of the activities which give
rise to them. The greenhouse gas emissions of yesterday are histoiy, and we must
learn to live with their consequences. The emissions of tomorrow are ours to
decide, and if we act promptly we may be able to limit the effects.
The New Delhi Conference in 1989 was the first convened to address the particular concerns of the developing nations. Nearly four billion of the present human
population of five billion live in developing countries. They need accelerated economic growth but on an environmentally sustainable basis. The Nairobi
Conference was convened to address the particular concerns of African nations. It
is against this background that the participants of the International Conference on
Global Warming and Climatic Change: African Perspectives met at the United
Nations Environment Programme Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from May 2-4,
1990, and presented the following analysis and recommendations.
"Future climate devastation
may be as dramatic as a nuclear holocaust. .
- William Mansfield
United Nations Environment
Programme, Nairobi, Kenya
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