China blames climate change for extreme weather (Reuters via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News) China blamed global warming on Wednesday for this year's weather extremes, which have led to more than 700 deaths from flooding and left more than seven million with little access to water. [News Source]

Africa: Climate Change - Ki-Moon Issues Strong Call for Action (AllAfrica.com) The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon has called for urgent international action to address the problem of climate change within the framework of the UN, warning that failure to act on climate change will have grave consequences for all countries. [News Source]

APEC Aiming to Lower Carbon Emissions to Combat Climate Change (Bloomberg.com) Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The reduction of carbon emissions to combat climate change and the safeguarding of supplies of the region's growing energy needs will top the agenda at a meeting of Asia-Pacific finance ministers starting in Australia today. [News Source]