The Conference is convened by the Russian Federation and supported by International organizations involved in climate change problems.

The initiative of convening the Conference was taken by V. Putin, the President of the Russian Federation.

Climate change is one of the most important problems of humanity. The studies performed are indicative of substantial climate variations over the Earth and of its natural variability. These changes always heavily influenced the development of life on the Planet, and in the recent millennia also on the development of civilization, economy and society
In the second half of the XX century the anthropogenic changes of climate became noticeable, and against the background of natural fluctuations these changes enforce their impact on nature and man. It became obvious that due to anthropogenic impact the general climatic situation can change faster than it occurred in the last millennia.
The scientists’ efforts are aimed in the recent years at studying the nature of climate changes and their impact on biosphere and society, at the development of measures to adapt the mankind to changes that take place, at a search for approaches on mitigating the anthropogenic loading on climate system, at preventing negative implications, and at maximum use of positive effects.
The two World Climate Conferences held under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) provided an important background for understanding on-going climate changes, for development and approval by the world community in 1992 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol to the FCCC.
Presently, governments, business and scientific circles, as well as civil society recognize the necessity to jointly discuss the available knowledge of climate and its changes, results of practical actions on adapting to these changes, mitigation of anthropogenic impact on climate system involving new approaches, which are not burdensome for the countries.
One of the important measures that can be of a great help in improving the mutual understanding and scientific substantiation of the measures taken to solve the climate problem is the World Conference on Climate Change which is to be held in Moscow in 2003 with the participation of all strata of society.
Annual conferences of the parties to the UN FCCC aimed at the consideration of the fulfillment by countries of the commitments under the Convention, and numerous symposiums and discussions promote the preparation for the World Conference on Climate Change and its implementation in Moscow in 2003.

The main goal of the Conference is a comprehensive discussion of a climate change problem with allowance for natural and anthropogenic factors, substantiation of measures on adapting population and economy to on-going climate changes, a search for weighted approaches on reducing anthropogenic impact on climate system at maximum mutual understanding between scientists, governments, business circles and public.
Topics of the Conference.
1.Climate Changes on Global and Regional scales.
1.1.General problems.
1.2.Basic Scientific Problems (the role of the ocean, atmosphere and greenhouse gases; carbon cycle, etc.)
2.Climate models and evaluation of their reliability.
3.Climate change predictions. Scenarios used in predictions.
4.Climatic data and monitoring. Use of the satellite data.
5.Extreme events (temperature and precipitation extremes, droughts, flooding, etc.). Observed and expected changes in their frequency, intensity and duration.
6.Ecological, social and economic consequences (negative and positive) of the climate change for the human health and most important areas of human activities (agriculture, forestry, use of water resources, energy, fishery, land use etc.). Adaptation and vulnerability.
7.Dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
8.Mitigation of anthropogenic loading on the climate system: the socioeconomic approaches. Economic evaluation of the damage and prevention of the damage from climate changes.
9.UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Future. Enhanced responsibility of developed countries and the role of developing countries in the solution of the climatic problem. Decision strategies and sustainable development.
10.Participation of business community in the implementation of the Convention and Protocols to the Convention.
11.The Kyoto Protocol, its effectiveness and development. The role of the Protocol in the development of the market. Problems of the Kyoto Protocol and alternatives. Strategy of possible decisions.
12.The role of society in the solution of the climatic problem.