Introduction

Abstract

Since the birth of the industrial revolution the atmospheric concentration of a number of greenhouse gases have been rising at a rate unprecedented in earth’s history. Scientists have predicted, as early as 1896, that the increase in the atmospheric concentration of these greenhouse gases increases the heat retention property of the atmosphere which inadvertently leads to increases in global surface temperatures. The rise in global temperatures by themselves are not expected to have significant effects on humanity. However, the associated climate changes which accompany the rise in temperatures are expected to cause significant negative effects on the ecosystem as well as the economic system.