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">In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the problems associated with climate change are regarded with great apprehension. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in a report released during the conference, warned that the region could bear one of the heaviest costs of climate change. The organization said that up to 40 percent of the biodiversity of some Latin American nations could be wiped out by 2100 if steps are not taken immediately to control carbon emissions."

Central America has suffered the highest rate of forest loss in Latin America over the last 10 years, despite a growing number of plans aimed at curbing the decline, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reports.

"I believe the green economy is coming. That's not a question of if it's going to happen, it's just when it's going to happen. The sooner the better for me, because the jobs of the future lie in energy independence and cleaning up the environment…. Why can't America have the cleanest air?"

"Warmer global temperatures aren't just wiping out the habitat of polar bears and penguins. They're also affecting many species closer to home -- including some right in your back yard. In this year's State of the Birds report, issued earlier this month, researchers from the National Audubon Society, U.S. Department of Interior, Cornell Lab or Ornithology, and others studied how climate change is affecting the habitats, ranges, and populations of birds across North America. OnEarth takes a look at eight vulnerable bird species from across the continent."

"One in six mangrove species faces extinction as coastal ecosystems are being destroyed or damaged by development, aquaculture, logging, and climate change, according to a new study. On the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, as many as 40 percent of mangrove species are threatened, the report said."

"Climate scientists say Colombia's glaciers could disappear within 15 years. Wet highland areas that provide much of the country's fresh water are getting warmer and drier. And each year, flooding becomes more severe. The coastal area of Tumaco has become an example of how environmental and security pressures are undermining previously stable communities."