The past decade – the first of the third millennium – has been the hottest in 100 years. In 2003, the worst heat wave in living memory killed over 70,000 persons in Europe; 2005 saw the worst hurricane season the Atlantic region ever experienced, unprecedented wildfires swept across Greece.

Of late, the sun has been dimmer than ever since satellite measuring started in the 1970s. And there's more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now than at any time in the last million years.

This year (2010) has been a climate change lesson in itself: it's one of the hottest three years since temperature records began; in the first nine months, over 21,000 people died the world over due to weather-related disasters, more than twice for all of 2009. (The 230,000 persons killed in Haiti after the January earthquake aren't counted.)

This year also brought extreme – hot and cold – weather to many nations and regions. Russia saw its worst heat wave, resulting in over 500 wildfires; and Australia also saw unprecedented wildfires. There was also heavy flooding in Pakistan that killed over 1,000 and affected over 20 million; in China, flash floods killed over 1,000 and destroyed over 1 million homes; and Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia also saw major floods. Floods have also been witnessed this year in Latin America – Mexico and Guatemala in May, Honduras and El Salvador in September, Costa Rica in November and Venezuela and Colombia in December.

The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season was the third most active and one of busiest on record, with 19 named storms – same as in 1887 and 1995 – of which 12 became hurricanes (tying with 1969 for the highest on record), five of which reached major hurricane status of Category 3 or higher.

The last hurricane of the Atlantic season, Tomas – a Category 2 – hit Barbados, devastated St. Lucia and lashed St. Vincent, Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba, leaving at least US$1 billion in damage and deaths in St. Lucia and Haiti.

Fortunately for the U.S., none of the 2010 storms reached American shores. But Americans simply have to remember Katrina to not forget what can happen to poor countries and island states seeking help against the rising tides of climate change.

Katrina's victims can tell President Obama and the rest of America what it's like to suffer under water. But while Washington keeps quiet on Kyoto and stammers on emissions reductions, entire island states in different parts of the world are in danger.

One meter of rising tide in the Caribbean, for example, can cause the sea to encroach 100 meters inland at great loss to several island states; if it rises to two meters, much of Barbados and Jamaica will simply go under.

Climate Change is real. These are real facts representing real dangers to real people. It affects us all. But some countries are simply but dangerously evading reality.

With not much progress expected in Cancun, many developing countries are already looking to the next set of talks in South Africa next year.

In Cancun today, 25,000 government delegates are still talking. However, those most guilty continue to proclaim innocence, fiddle with facts and figures, renege on promises, retreat on commitments – and, year after year, delay the speed with which the world responds to a crisis endangering present and future generations.

Whatever their conclusion, after 11 days of talks disagreeing more than agreeing, the tens of thousands of delegates will lave Cancun this weekend and return home to prepare for South Africa next year.

But during the 11 days they talked, a billion tons of CO2 was released into the atmosphere worldwide, adding to the nearly 30 billion tons emitted since Copenhagen.

Clearly, when it comes to climate change, talk isn't cheap. It comes at a cost that can be counted.

(China.org.cn December 11, 2010)