As they have always done in the past, they make careful observations, exchange information and experiences, and debate their significance and implications for the future.

UNESCO: Social and Human Sciences

In this audio section, BBC World Service environment specialist Richard Black explains the so-called greenhouse effect, global warming, the implications for the human race and the significance of the Kyoto summit.

BBC: See and hear how the world could alter

U.S. Treasury bonds getting downgraded to below AAA rating will have significance to corporations, pension funds, and the like and the implications are too numerous to list causing dramatic declines in both the bond and stock markets.

FORBES: It's a Long Way from Wrong to Right