Two of the biggest threats to the world’s climate are the rising concentration - caused by mankind - of long-lasting greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), which are responsible for the “greenhouse effect”, and the increasing depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFC production in Germany ceased in mid-1994. CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 25 percent by the year 2005 (based on 1990 figures). The Federal Government has adopted an ambitious overall plan to achieve this goal. Between 1990 and 1994, CO2 emissions had already been reduced by about 13 percent.