海角大神

The words 鈥�UN climate talks鈥� can make the eyes of the most optimistic environmentalist glaze over.

But Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines jolted delegates to their feet the first day of in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday.

The envoy to the Philippines broke down in tears on the opening day, until a "meaningful outcome is in sight," said Naderev "Yeb" Sano, according to the Associated Press.

"We can fix this. We can stop this madness. Right now, right here," Mr. Sano said, choking on his words, as he shared his anguish as he waited for news of his family's fate.

Some 10,000 are estimated to have lost their lives in Typhoon Haiyan, described as the most powerful typhoon to make landfall in history.

"In solidarity with my countrymen who are struggling to find food back home . . . I will now commence a voluntary fasting for the climate," he said. "This means I will voluntarily refrain from eating food during this [conference] until a meaningful outcome is in sight." The conference lasts until Nov. 22.

"I speak for the countless people who will no longer be able to speak for themselves,鈥� he added, .听

Sano received a standing ovation from members, who hail from 190 countries meeting to attempt to chart a path against global warming. The UN aims for such a pact to be signed in Paris in 2015.

The latest talks are part of a long, drawn-out, and often contentious process of meetings from Rio de Janiero, to Durban, South Africa, to Copenhagen. The BBC writes that the talks in Poland (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).听

It is not scientifically certain that global warming . As The New York Times explains here:

鈥淲hether we鈥檙e seeing some result of climate change, we find that impossible to find out,鈥� said聽, an atmospheric scientist at M.I.T.

Scientists largely agree that it appears that storms will become more powerful as the climate changes. Dr. Emanuel helped write a 2010 study, for example, that forecast that the average intensity of hurricanes and typhoons 鈥� 聽鈥� would increase by up to 11 percent by the end of the century.

But the devastation of the typhoon brought real-life tangibles to talks that often get bogged down by national interests and can seem worlds away from the life of ordinary citizens.

Olai Ngedikes, lead negotiator聽for the Alliance of聽Small Island States (AOSIS), saying:聽鈥淭he tragic aftermath of Supertyphoon Haiyan, one of the聽most powerful storms in history, serves as a stark reminder of聽the cost of聽inaction on climate change and should serve to motivate our work in Warsaw.鈥�

UN climate chief 海角大神a Figueres talked of the "devastating impact" of the typhoon in her opening speech, according to the AP, as she asked the participants to 鈥�" in their negotiations.

And, Dessima Williams,聽a former AOSIS chairwoman, said in an interview with the Times that, 鈥淭he scale of the response in the talks ."

Now the question is whether these emotional appeals will resonate into something tangible, two weeks from now.