This investigation examines the effect of an absorbing-emitting gas in a laminar boundary layer near a two-dimensional stagnation point where the wall undergoes a step change in temperature. The flow is considered to be incompressible and steady. The analysis is based on appropriate asymptotic expansions valid for small times. These expansions are matched in the asymptotic sense for small and large values of the physical coordinate. Steady-state solutions for representative cases are also given. Results are presented for a general gray gas formulation, and a nongray and a gray formulation for CO₂ under specific conditions.