There's a myth that climate change will turn the UK into a sunny, tropical, winegrower's paradise - but in reality we will all be affected in unpredictable and often unpleasant ways.

The devastating floods in York during November 2001 are a foretaste of what's ahead for us - unless we all begin to take the threat of climate change seriously.

Over the past decade abnormal weather conditions have made headline news in many parts of the world. Storms of unusual ferocity, prolonged periods of drought and devastating floods provide strong evidence that climate change is underway.

The world's leaders pledged to attempt to combat the problem back in 1997. The Kyoto Protocol gave developed countries legally binding targets to cut emissions from their 1990 levels by 2008-12. However, Kyoto has run into problems, with the US, under President George Bush, withdrawing from the agreement.

Leaders met again in Bonn to forge a lasting deal.But it's not just up to politicians to bring about the change in energy consumption and emissions. We all desperately need to take a look at our behaviour because the stakes are high. Wasting energy is not just foolish in money terms - it pumps unnecessary emissions into the atmosphere and it is these that are helping cause climate change. We're playing Russian Roulette with our planet and our children's futures.

The cost to the planet of climate change cannot be underestimated. A snapshot of the problem is stark.

In the UK:

* The Association of British Insurers says it's paying up on more and more claims for disasters due to climate change. In the 1980s, world-wide claims from climate change catastrophes cost £18 billion and by the end of the 1990s claims had leapt to £70 billion.

* The Thames barrier is facing increasing pressure and may not be able to protect London against severe flooding. Normally the Thames Barrier is closed just two or three times a year to protect London from flooding. But from November 2000 to March 2001, it was closed a staggering 23 times.

* Rising sea levels threaten much of low-lying East Anglia and the South East and extreme weather conditions are worring home owners across the UK.

* Our winters will get wetter and windier, and we will suffer more summer drought. Our homes will suffer more subsidence problems.

* Cliffs on Humberside and near Scarborough are disappearing at a rate of 50 feet a year.

* UK temperatures will be nearly two degrees warmer by 2020. Seven of the 10 warmest years on record occurred in the last decade and heavy downpours now contribute twice as much rain as they did in the early 60s.

* Scientists predict that higher temperatures in Britain over the next 50 years may cause 10,000 more cases of food poisoning each year; 3,000 extra deaths annually from heat-stroke; an extra 5,000 deaths from skin cancer and 2,000 cataracts each year.

And around the world:

* 17 per cent of Bangladesh will be under water if sea levels rise by just one metre.

* The Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean are one of several low-lying chains at risk: few rise more than six feet above sea level.

* The Atlantic's hurricane alley' is set to become more dangerous over the next 40 years.

* The Great Barrier Reef will be dead by 2030 if carbon dioxide levels are not tackled.

* The Arctic Ocean ice packs have thinned by 40 per cent threatening the lives of polar bears.