The Climate Change Conference on 3-14 December, under the auspices of United Nations and hosted by the Government of Indonesia to be held in Bali, brings together representatives of over 180 countries together with observers from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, and the media. The two week period includes the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, its subsidiary bodies as well as the Meeting of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol. A ministerial segment in the second week will conclude the Conference. Climate change has been in active news for quite some time now. The Arctic ice pack reached its lowest level since measurements have been taken. Glaciers are melting and the world's weather patterns are changing. Due to rise of sea level, many island and coastal countries have been under serious threat of extinction. The countries that contribute to the disastrous global warming affecting the entire humanity have take notice of the warnings from the rising sea levels.

Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes, "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations" via the greenhouse effect. An increase in global temperatures is expected to cause other changes, including sea level rise, increased intensity of extreme weather events, and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation. Other effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, glacier retreat, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors.

The disastrous global warming is the result of Carbon dioxide from power plants, cars, buildings, domestic firewood, methane, wastage of gas by drivers, contaminated surface layers of the world's oceans, among other sources. The Kyoto protocol is the closest the world has come to a global agreement to combat climate change - and it is running out. Signed in 1997, it was designed to stabilize emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Ratified by 167 countries, it has been ignored by major polluters such as the US, India and China and expires in 2012. Already the weather is becoming increasingly erratic, and more flux may be in store. The Arabian Sea has become warmer by 0.2 to 0.8 degrees Celsius over the last decade, leading to an 'increase in extreme weather events in our coastal areas', according to the metrological department. The impact of climate change may be most telling on our water resources. The Himalayan glaciers that feed the Indus are melting at an alarming rate and may disappear altogether in 50 years. What we may see initially is a period of excess flooding, followed by a drying up of the waterways.

As of December 2006, a total of 169 countries and other governmental entities have ratified the Kyoto agreement (representing over 61.6% of emissions from Annex I countries).Notable exceptions include the United States and Australia. Other countries, like India and China, which have ratified the protocol, are not required to reduce carbon emissions under the present agreement. By most counts, the United States is the No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide produced by coal-fired power plants and petroleum-fueled vehicles. But at least one study this year indicated that fast-developing China is now in the lead. Other participants are the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, India, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Australia, Indonesia and South Africa, and Russia.

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