Almost a year has passed since the high expectations of the Copenhagen-held United Nations Climate Change Conference [COP15] fizzled out into a fudged disappointment, now frustrated negotiators from 194 nations are preparing to resume the debate at the Mexican coastal resort of Cancun with the heavy responsibility of keeping global warming under control.

The Yucatan Peninsula resort is an appropriate venue to discuss climate change, given its three-day torment at the mercy of Hurricane Wilma in October 2005, and the subsequent increase in hurricane storm activity impacting Mexico and its neighbours in recent years.

But while hyped optimism preceded the Copenhagen summit, there seems a more realistic approach to the Cancun conference-scheduled to start on November 29 and run until December 10 - with participants looking for 'progress' on climate change rather than the grand expectations of a full-blown climate treaty.

The consensus from negotiators is that Cancun will be about 'bringing a global deal closer' ahead of next year's summit in South Africa: the Mexican hosts have some useful climate change evidence to submit.