By Pavel Antonov The problem with trying to write, talk or even think about climate change is that it is too big. A concept involving so many events, facts and opinions does not fit neatly into our everyday life. In general, people understand big issues better after the mass media has prepared it for them. The press sorts out the most spicy and exotic bits, then they boil them together and serve them as an information soup that tastes palatable to everyone. Anyone watching TV can hear about the drought in Afghanistan, devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean, the ozone hole and melting arctic ice. But is climate change a serious issue for Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries? Many people would say no. The briefest summary of the recently released International Climate Change Panel report I have heard sounded like this: "Nothing serious in South-Eastern Europe, just a little bit of drought." Indeed, compared with other parts of the world, like Central Asia or the Middle East, the CEE region seems fortunate in terms of climate impacts. And there are other priorities on the agenda in CEE -- including European Union accession, economic development, market and social reforms. The climate does not seem to lead international news reports. But if you look at local news, you will be surprised by the difference. Droughts bring poor harvests to Romania and Hungary. Mud streams drown Slovenia. Bulgaria suffers unprecedented water shortages. There is no snow for skiing in the Slovak mountains. Forests burn in the hot summer of Albania. Floods threaten Central Europe. There is a good reason why climate-related events seem to be absent from the international news picture of CEE. While Bulgaria's mountains burned, the press there paid less attention to the fires in the Albanian forests. Droughts in Romania mattered, but Hungarian reporters had to cover domestic problems with crops this year. The mass media seem to be slower in getting the common CEE climate picture and delivering it to the public. Slower, for instance, than the region's negotiators, who have already begun to take a common position at the climate talks. Gradually, the common link between climate developments and their consequences for CEE is becoming clearer, for the media and the general public. It is more obvious now that climate change is here -- it is in our homes, offices, vacations and budgets. So the time has come to act. Governments must act -- as they are in charge today of everyone's tomorrow. And the rest of us must act too -- because we will be the responsible generation in the eyes of those who come next.

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