There is now general agreement among the scientific community that human activities – primarily the combustion of fossil fuel and deforestation – are contributing to changes in the earth's climate. The potential adverse impacts of climate change are significant and far-reaching, and its causes, given human population growth and industrialization, will be difficult to halt or reverse. This is the most challenging energy-related environmental issue facing the world today. In order to stabilize the earth's climate, extensive changes in our production and use of energy will be required; this includes the development of low-carbon energy technologies and implementation of policies that limit greenhouse gas emissions. Initiatives addressing these goals have already been adopted at the international, national, regional, state, and local levels. However, the scope of the problem is vast, and existing efforts, while important, will need to be greatly expanded.
