Thousands of delegates, scientists and activists are gathering in Cancún, Mexico, for the start of a two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference. A new scientific report being issued today reveals that up to a billion people could lose their homes in the next 90 years due to climate change. The report by the Tyndall Center for Climate Change also predicts up to three billion people could lose access to clean water supplies. On Saturday, activists with Greenpeace launched a hot air balloon over the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza. The balloon carried the message “rescue the climate.”

Joao Ttalocchi: “Greenpeace is here today at Chichen Itza, Mexico to remind delegates meeting for the U.N. climate talks of a very important lesson: even the most advanced civilizations collapse. If we do nothing, climate change will have devastating consequences for humanity. But it’s not too late. Simply by making the right choices, governments can and must set us on a path to a safe future by making climate change history.”

Mexico’s ambassador on climate change, Luis Alfonso de Alba, spoke in Cancún on Saturday.

Luis Alfonso de Alba: “First of all, Mexico wants to contribute with its own efforts to reduce emissions and to pay attention to the most vulnerable places in the country but also to be aware that 'anything will do' will not be good enough if other countries don’t pull their weight or do what they are supposed to do. The problem is global. There is only one atmosphere, and what one or even a few countries do will not be enough. We need the international community to be committed.”