In September 2007 parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer met in Montreal to celebrate its twentieth anniversary. The meeting not only honored a remarkably successful global environmental initiative, it also resulted in the adoption of new measures to accelerate the phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These chemicals, which served as interim replacements for CFCs, are greenhouse gases (GHGs). The parties agreed to freeze HCFC production in 2013 and to phase them out by 2020 in developed countries, and by 2030 in the developing world. This change may in itself produce greater reductions in GHGs than the Kyoto Protocol has accomplished. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change completed its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) in November 2007. The final part of the Report is the IPCC’s “Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report – Summary for Policymakers.” It is available online at: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf The report concludes that global warming is clearly occurring (“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level.”) It attributes most of the warming that has occurred to increases in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (“Most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHG concentrations”). The report warns that global warming poses risks to unique and vulnerable ecosystems, risks of extreme weather events, and risks from sea level rise, but notes that adaptation and mitigation policies can significantly reduce the risks of climate change. In December 2007 parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) met in Bali, Indonesia for the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-13) of the FCCC and the Third Meeting of the Parties (MOP-3) to the Kyoto Protocol. The meetings, which included representatives from 180 countries, focused on the question of what agreement would be negotiated to succeed the Kyoto Protocol following the end of its 2008-2012 commitment period. More than 10,000 people participated in the conference. Sharp splits surfaced between developed and developing countries concerning what commitments should be made and by whom to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after 2012. The United States continued to oppose binding commitments for GHG reductions. A last-minute compromise resulted in the “Bali Roadmap” outlining two years of negotiations leading up to the crucial Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009 where it is hoped that a new post-Kyoto Protocol to control GHG emissions will be adopted . The “Bali Road Map” is available online at: http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_13/application/pdf/cp_bali_act_p.pdf In July 2008 representatives of the developed world met in Japan for the last G-8 Summit where the U.S. will be represented by the Bush administration. The summit included an effort to persuade developing nations to join in commitments to control emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). The developed countries asked the leading developing countries to join in a program to reduce global GHG emissions by 50 percent by the year 2050 in return for pledges of greater financial and technical assistance from rich to poor countries. Developing countries and environmentalists were disappointed that the proposal did not include interim targets to ensure swifter reductions in GHG emissions. In May 2007 Democrats in Congress announced a new approach for handling environmental issued raised by free trade agreements (FTA). Rather than adhering to the previous practice where the only environmental commitment in an FTA that was subject to binding dispute settlement was a general commitment to enforce a country’s environmental laws, they insisted that all environmental commitments should be enforceable on the same terms as the rest of the FTA. This resulted in the Bush administration renegotiating FTAs with Peru, Colombia, Panama and Korea. To combat illegal exports of mahogany from Peru, an annex was added to the U.S.-Peru FTA requiring Peru to strengthen enforcement of its forestry laws and to conduct audits and investigations of forest exports at the request of the U.S. The U.S.-Peru FTA was approved in late 2007. The list of major commercial banks throughout the world who have agreed to follow the Equator Principles continues to grow. As of August 2008, a total of 62 institutions have adopted the Equator Principles. See http://www.equator-principles.com/index.html | 
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