International scientists with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say human-made greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from fuel consumption could lead to an increase in global temperature by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius between 1990 and 2100 if significant action is not taken.
Australia and the United States -- the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter -- are the only two major industrialized countries to reject the Kyoto Protocol. Reading and Discussion Questions
"If they do not sign the Kyoto agreement, they have to act and be in step with the rest of the world, the rest of the industrialized world," said Annan, according to the Australian Associated Press.
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