Islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific are in peril from rising sea levels due to warming waters.

These are among the key issues of UN climate talks taking place in Durban, where negotiators are seeking the way forward after the Kyoto Protocol expires in December 2012

The 43 members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) says it will not accept an outcome which delays a new binding agreement because the very survival of the small islands including the Caribbean is at stake.

The European Union is calling for a global deal to be reached by 2015 and implemented by 2020. AOSIS chair Dessima Williams says that’s too late.

As Governments of the world assemble to discuss a way to slow down the pace of climate change, 1000 women farmers across Africa engaged in a peaceful protest to add their voices to the growing cry for climate justice.

They say climate change has resulted in lost crops, lost income and a reduction in the fertility of their land.

Thousands marched through the streets of Durban, South Africa at the weekend and held a mass meeting in front of the ICC, where the United Nations climate change negotiations are taking place.

Their goal? To press home the urgency for a new climate change deal.

Among the key issues – the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 international environmental treaty that sets limits on carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere. The treaty ends next year, with no sign as yet that there will be a renewal or extension.

Recent figures show that carbon emissions in the atmosphere are worse than predicted. A UN report showed a six per cent increase in 2009 to 2010 levels. 2010 was said to be the hottest on record. Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean have seen increasing hurricanes, storm surges and extended drought conditions, all a result of climate change.

The march symbolised unity in the call to governments around the world to take urgent action to prevent what are predicted to be catastrophic consequences due to climate change, including some islands sinking to a watery grave in a few decades.

Twenty-four Jamaican artistes have decided to sing for climate change – they have volunteered to help educate the public in Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world. Written by Lloyd Lovindeer – Caribbean song writer extraordinaire – this song is loved the world over and serves as an easy way to introduce people to climate change.

In a remote area of Chakwal district, Pakistan, farmers are running out of water. In this short film, the farmers describe the changes they have witnessed and politicians outline their hopes for the Green Climate Fund being negotiated at the UN COP 17.

This latest technology has also been used at the Climate Conference in Mexico connecting people to events at the meeting. CCMP Fellow Rachna Nath caught up with those behind the new software.

Click here to view the embedded video.