Western leaders seem to be pulling the plug on the Copenhagen climate change meet even before it is due to start. Everyone who is someone in the developed world is now saying nothing much could be expected from it. They are talking of some compromise formula that would keep the talks go on – a Bali meet encore.

Bali talks had collapsed in muddle in December 2007 - the leaders only agreed to meet again. And the meeting time has come. It is to start on Dec.7. It is to go on for ten days.

A new pact to replace the Kyoto protocol which expires in 2012 was expected to be reached in Copenhangen, the Danish capital. The new pact to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions must be in place by the end of 2010 to leave two years for nations to ratify it before it comes into force from January 1, 2013. But it looks increasingly unlikely. 

When sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface, some of it is reflected back towards space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation, trap the heat in the atmosphere and reemit the waves downward causing the temperature of the earth to go up.

And this is called the "greenhouse effect," because of a similar effect produced by the glass panes of a greenhouse, where plants are grown under controlled conditions.

Many greenhouse gases occur naturally, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Others such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) result exclusively from human industrial processes. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by the burning of solid waste, wood and wood products, and fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal).