A panel of UN scientists has fired an opening salvo for world political leaders meeting next month in Bali to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto protocol.

And it’s a stern warning of what’s at stake if governments fail to take action, far stronger than three previous IPCC reports despite lively debate – highlighted by objections from the U.S., China and India -- among about 130 governments who gave final approval.

The meeting began just two days after a United Nations gathering aimed at finding agreement on binding limits on greenhouse-gas emissions, which the U.S. and Canada have opposed. While U.S. officials insist the latest conference was not designed to undercut UN efforts, opening remarks heralded a collision course between the Bush Administration and other world leaders seeking tough new standards to succeed the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

A new survey has found growing global awareness of man’s role in climate change, together with a sense of urgency around curbing greenhouse-gas emissions. The challenge now is to get world leaders to take the necessary action.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon says global warming is the biggest struggle facing mankind, and that the Bush administration, a strong opponent of the Kyoto Protocol, has finally awakened to the seriousness of the issue.

A growing consensus of scientists and others says greenhouse gases are causing civil wars in places like Sudan and Afganistan. The conflicts are aggravated by a scarcity of resources due to floods and drought, which are caused by climate change.

The United Nations World Meteorological Association linked 13 extreme weather events around the world so far this year to global warming yesterday, saying that heat- and flooding-related catastrophes can be thought of as consequences of global warming — and signs of what is to come if nothing is done to stop the runaway climate change engulfing the globe due to greenhouse gas emissions.