Global disaster losses @ $200 bn

The world has suffered record financial losses of around $200 billion this year as a result of weather-related natural disasters - a substantial increase over the previous year's figure of $145 billion.

The statistics were presented before the United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in Montreal, Canada.

Faced with this worrying trend, experts are trying to figure out what was the contribution of human beings in the changing weather patterns and what could be done to reverse the trend.

Participants at the meet generally agree that increasing emission of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, as a result of human activity is contributing to global warming. But they were divided over whether the natural weather cycle or emission was the main culprit and how to control it.

Addressing the conference, United Nations Environment Programme executive director Klaus Toepfer called for sending a clear signal to business, industry and the people on the urgent need to control global warning.

"The best form of adaptation is to reduce the world's emissions by embracing a revolution in the way we use rather than abuse energy and by dramatically boosting energy efficiency and using technologies and techniques already available or at our finger tips," he said.

The sharp rise in the losses this year is partly the result of the devastation caused by the highest number of hurricanes or tropical storms recorded ever since the world began keeping records in 1850.