Bali: Little achieved after hectic week of talks

Arti Mulchand, Straits Times 8 Dec 07;

Viewpoints on many issues remain polarised and it is unclear if any deal can be reached

BALI - ONE week into Bali's crucial climate change conference, the world is no closer to figuring out how to cope with rising temperatures and drowning coastlines.

As representatives from nearly 190 countries try to find a successor to the current global climate change agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, formal talks have splintered into a dizzying number of contact groups and informal meetings.

Delegates are trying to narrow down their points of view on numerous contentious issues before next week's high-level segment of the talks. This weekend offers no respite as informal meetings continue non-stop.

One delegate called the current process 'more complicated and hectic than ever'.

A member of the Singapore delegation dubbed it 'overwhelming'.

This is especially so, given how polarised views remain over central issues.

Contact groups are squabbling over such issues as which direction to take to move forward and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation.

They are also grappling with the issue of helping developing countries cope with climate change.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) executive secretary Yvo de Boer says 'things are going well', although nothing concrete has surfaced from the daily meetings.

He says most countries agree on the need for developed countries to cut emissions by between 25 and 40 per cent by 2020, but it does not mean Australia or the United States will agree to this.

Developing countries may well be let off the hook for now. Mr de Boer says 'the debate about binding commitments for developing countries is not off the table, but it's crawling towards the edge'.

Tension also remains in the group looking at the transfer of greener technology and high-tech means of adapting to climate change, from developed to developing countries.

Developing countries have finally succeeded in bringing that topic to an area where action - or inaction - so far can be reviewed, despite strong opposition from the US and Canada.

Developed countries have failed to deliver on their promises despite obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, said Indonesian head of delegation Emil Salim.

'We are so fed up...The Maldives are disappearing and Indonesia could lose 20 per cent of its islands,' he told The Straits Times.

There were high hopes for an early decision from the group looking at providing incentives for reduced emissions from deforestation, especially since it accounts for a fifth of global carbon dioxide emissions.

But so far, none has come.

Indeed, it remains a big question mark whether any deal will emerge from any of the 30 or so groups that have nitpicked over numerous issues over the last few days.

Clearly, there are big issues to deal with, like the fact that both cash and capacity to deal with climate change challenges sit in developed countries, but it is developing countries that need them most.

Perhaps help could come out of a meeting of trade ministers scheduled over the weekend. Mr de Boer says they will try to figure how to kick-start a 'Star Trek expedition - to make public and private money go where it has never gone before'.

On the sidelines of the conference, a slew of reports, declarations and position papers have been released, adding to the mounting cacophony of calls for urgent action.

The week has not been devoid of success, however. The most notable was Australia's ratification of Kyoto on day one.

But what Prime Minister Kevin Rudd actually brings to the negotiating table, though, bears watching, especially after he rebuffed binding targets mere moments after ratifying the Kyoto agreement.

Green activists turn up heat outside conference venue
Arti Mulchand, Straits Times 8 Dec 07;

INSIDE the cool air-conditioned rooms of the Bali International Convention Centre (BICC) is where thousands of delegates from close to 190 countries hold the fate of a warming world in their hands.

Just outside, environmental activists try to turn up the heat.

Placards and performances angle for attention outside the main venue. A massive thermometer out front reminds observers that anything above a 2 deg C temperature rise is potentially devastating.

But despite the gravity of the message, the atmosphere is almost festive, with prime time between 9am and 10am, when delegates arrive. The shows begin again at 1pm, when delegates break for lunch.

Clowns mock the commitment of world leaders, youth in construction helmets demand 'hard caps' on carbon dioxide emissions, and mock swimming lessons highlight the plight of low-lying countries as sea levels rise, among other things.

But it is certainly not fun and games for everyone. The beachfronts, deck chairs and pools have remained deserted despite the more than 10,000 visitors in Bali who are here to attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change talks.

While the events have spilled over to at least three neighbouring hotels - over 250 events and exhibitions by NGOs and green businesses are being held on the sideline of the events - the hotbed of activity is still the convention centre itself.

Throughout the day, delegates dash from meeting room to meeting room, trying in unofficial groups to find common ground on tight deadlines. Press conferences are lined up back to back.

The action is expected to escalate dramatically in the coming days as top officials arrive at the negotiating table.

Dozens of events and demonstrations are planned, and the green message will even get a celebrity boost - apparently actor Leonardo DiCaprio, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former US vice-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore will all be here.

What bearing they will have on the final analysis remains to be seen, but what is clearly hoped for is that the key message will get through: A planet is at stake.

Bali climate talks can be a trailblazer
Straits Times 8 Dec 07;

THE UN climate talks in Bali are unlikely to lead to agreement on a new regime to take the world beyond 2012, when the current provisions of the Kyoto accord expire.

The talks are also unwieldy, involving more than 10,000 delegates from 190 countries in two weeks of discussions on how best to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and avoid climate change.

Furthermore, Bali serves as a platform for the reiteration of well-known - and often well-worn - national positions. President George W. Bush may have promised that the US would 'lead the world to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions', but his delegation in Bali is still opposing any mandatory environmental ceiling.

And the usual disputes erupted between developed nations and developing countries which fear that such environmental controls could slow down their economic growth.

It is easy, therefore, to dismiss the Bali gathering as just another grand diplomatic jamboree. But it could still be a trailblazer.

First, it has provided a useful platform for Australia's new government to unveil its environmental policy.

This goes beyond just ratification of the Kyoto accord, for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd - who will be arriving in Bali early next week - has also declared his ambition to act as a 'bridge' between China and the West on climate change.

Australia's contribution could be beneficial, because it comes hard on the heels of a similar effort by the European Union to eliminate the West's disputes with China over carbon emissions.

And, although the focus of the conference is on preparing a negotiating timetable for a new international agreement, other topics under discussion - such as reducing emissions from deforestation - are just as important.

More significantly, the discussion is not only between diplomatic negotiators and non-governmental organisations (NGOs); the business community (largely absent from previous gatherings) is now present in force, with commercial companies showing particular interest in the financial opportunities created by the so-called Clean Development Mechanism concept.

But many other initiatives announced in Bali - such as Indonesia's pledge to preserve 4,300ha of its forests permanently - remain puny, designed more with an eye to favourable media headlines rather than serious environmental safeguards.

Nevertheless, the conference has succeeded in mobilising public opinion.

A recent global poll indicates that large majorities in most countries support urgent environmental protection.

'Leaders in Bali do not need to worry that they will face a difficult job of selling their general public on the need for action,' said Mr Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, which coordinated the poll.

'Rather, the public around the world are signalling that they are ready to do more than their own governments have been asking of them.'


'Sustainable development a better focus for Bali'
Straits Times 8 Dec 07;

HONG KONG - CLIMATE change negotiators in Bali should focus on sustainable development instead of aiming for binding greenhouse gas emissions targets, said two think-tanks.

Asian developing countries are unlikely to agree to firm emissions caps, the Singapore Institute for International Affairs and Hong Kong-based Civic Exchange said in a joint report on Thursday.

'Because of the hard-to-predict growth trajectories of developing countries in Asia, it is extremely difficult to estimate future carbon emissions and set meaningful targets,' the Civic Exchange's Christine Loh said in a statement.

The Bali conference should instead focus on creating a framework that will align poor countries' interests in development with sustainability, the report said.

The idea is to offer developing countries a way to contribute from a varied 'menu of options', such as efforts at energy efficiency and avoiding deforestation, it said.

The think-tanks suggest reforming the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism to offer credits for a wider range of new and existing sustainable development policies and to emphasise global emissions reduction, rather than just emissions transfer.

The report also proposed that developed countries do more for developing nations by helping them financially and sharing their expertise, as well as expanding their own binding emissions targets.