The Beijing-based Shanshui Conservation Center, headed by Lu Zhi, has been piloting a "panda carbon storage" program in Southwest China. Under the program, Lu and her colleagues work with people in the mountainous communities to restore and manage forests with credits they've obtained from the international carbon markets.

"We make sure that local communities are masters of these forests and benefit from reforestation," Lu said.

The NRDC has worked with Jiangsu province to limit the increase in its electricity generation over the past three years. By saving 3.5 billion kWh a year, the province expects to reduce its CO2 emissions by about 3.4 million tons.

Meanwhile, The Climate Group is working in Chinese cities to blaze a trail for low-carbon development.

It is tough to give up the road of high energy and resource consumption, yet we must change gears.

"We can no longer afford to rely on excessive fossil fuel and intense energy consumption to drive our development," Xie said.

Although China is still a developing country, it will contribute its share to slowing down global warming and reducing the effects of climate change.

We must take seriously the new data scientists have shared with us here in Cancun. The World Meteorology Organization reported that 2010 has been among the three warmest years since 1850.

Meanwhile, glaciers from the Himalayas to Alaska to the southernmost portion of South America are receding, and the amount of ice available to reflect sunshine and keep our earth cool is shrinking, according to a report by United Nations Environment Program.

The extreme weather around the world will only get worse, climate experts warn, if we don't begin drastic coordinated global actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut our reliance on fossil fuels.

We must stop dragging our feet.

The author is assistant editor-in-chief of China Daily. She can be reached at lixing@chinadaily.com.cn.