Story highlights One of the annoying things about global warming, besides the likelihood it will ravage life on Earth, is all the new words we are expected to learn in order to track our descent into climate chaos Climate change is causing more frequent and severe flooding, droughts, storms, and heatwaves as average global temperatures rise to new records, sea ice melts in the Arctic, and sea levels rise. Developing nations say the rich are lagging with a commitment dating back to 2009 to provide $100 billion a year by 2020, from public and private sources alike, to help them switch from fossil fuels to greener energy sources and adapt to the effects of climate change.