The 2007 UN climate change conference officially got underway in Bali today.

The first day of these meetings is always a frenzy of activity and excitement and today was no exception. I guess that's what happens when 10,000 people from around the world come together under one roof to tackle climate change.

There were several news conferences, side events, meetings and, of course, the official opening ceremony. The best part of the opening ceremony was the inspiring speech urging delegates to take action on climate change. The worst part of the opening ceremony was watching a group of local singers lip-synch their way through a song (in the hallway after the show, at least one delegate was overheard saying, "Man, that was cheesy").

After the opening ceremony, delegates got down to business. However, most of today's talks revolved around organizational matters (adopting the agenda and electing officers, for example). One thing that had everyone tongues wagging (or at least those belonging to the Canadian observers) was a controversial submission Canada made on the weekend.

In its submission, Canada is asking that the post-2012 Kyoto Protocol agreement includes emission reduction targets for all major greenhouse gas emitters, including developing countries like China and India. It's exactly the same position Canada took at the Commonwealth talks last month. It will be interesting to see what happens here in Bali.

That pretty much summarizes the day. There was a lot going on and nothing going on all at the same time.

We'll post more updates tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a quick look at some of the news coverage coming out of Canada:

CanWest: Bali for dummies

Toronto Star: Climate change critics fear Canada’s influence

National Post: Foreign Affairs documents warned Harper on climate change