A place for all things related to the UN climate change conference in Bali, Dec. 3-14.

December 06, 2007

There are a mind-numbing amount of press conferences held every single day here at the UN climate conference in Bali. You could spend the entire day doing nothing but going from one press conference to another.

Today there were 10 different press conferences to choose from. They touched on everything from green jobs to deforestation to domestic legislation.

I try to go to at least one press conference per day. I'm less interested in the content of the press conference and more interested in the questions the journalists are asking. It's a good way to find out what's generating a buzz in Bali.

The press conference I went to today was on how climate change will affect developing countries. The speakers talked about how the most severe impacts of climate change will be felt by poor nations. Not only will developing countries suffer the worst effects of a warming world but they will also least able to cope with the impacts.

The speakers emphasized that because developed countries are largely responsible for the problem of climate change, they should take the lead in tackling it.

It's the foundation the Kyoto Protocol was built upon.

In Bali, one of the things delegates have to agree on is a framework for an adaptation fund to help developing countries adapt to climate changes. Delegates also have to agree on a framework for technology cooperation to help developing countries use clean technologies.

Equity is a big part of international climate change negotiations. But on this issue, Canada is the bad guy. Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the Kyoto Protocol a "mistake" because it did not assign targets to developing countries, such as China and India.

He is demanding that "binding, absolute targets" be imposed on all countries or none. It's an extremely unjust position.

You can't ask poorer nations to shoulder the burden and do just as much as wealthy nations, especially when we caused the problem.

Wealthy countries can afford to develop the technologies that will help us cut our emissions. Without cooperation, technology and incentives, developing countries will be left to make the same mistakes that were made in rich countries.

Besides, countries like China and India are included in the Kyoto Protocol. Developing countries were exempt from reductions in the first phase of the Protocol but they will begin to take on commitments in the second phase, which begins after 2012.

The whole thing reminded me of an episode of the West Wing in which the fictional American President Bartlet lectured his Commerce Secretary about a global warming treaty: 'I think what's lunacy is a nation of SUVs telling a nation of bicycles that they have to change the way they live before we'll agree to do something about greenhouse emissions."

Posted by Sarah Marchildon at December 06, 2007
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December 05, 2007

Moving beyond a roadmap

There's a real feeling in Bali that countries are going to set a roadmap in place for long-term action on climate change before the talks wrap up next Friday.

More specifically, the Bali talks are expected to launch a process to set a post-2012 climate change agreement in motion. But that's it. A process. It's a critical first step but there's no point creating a process without substance.

It's important to commit to setting specific, absolute emission reduction targets for developed countries here in Bali. Environmental groups and many countries are calling for at least 25 to 40 per cent reductions by 2020.

There's a lot of potential in Bali to go far beyond just setting out a roadmap. Some countries are already stepping up to the plate.

New Zealand, for example, is talking about the need to cut emissions 25 to 40 per cent and wants those targets to be written into the mandate for the post-2012 agreement. The target is also endorsed by the EU.

Major developing countries are also talking about stepping up their commitments.

Brazil, South Africa and China announced they are willing to negotiate new and stronger commitments in the post-2012 Kyoto Protocol period.

A condition of negotiating stronger commitments for developing countries is that industrialized nations like Canada and Japan must agree to deeper cuts in absolute emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.

It seems clear that a Bali roadmap will be created by the end of these talks next Friday. The question is how ambitious and specific will that roadmap be?

In other news:

CBC: Canada flounders on issue of climate change

Malaysia Sun: India under pressure from Canada, Japan over climate change

Earth Times: US, Japan, Canada put up roadblocks at climate conference

CTV.ca: Opposition slams Tories over climate stances

Posted by Sarah Marchildon at December 05, 2007
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December 04, 2007

Blogging the UN climate conference

There's no shortage of websites to help you stay on top of the climate change talks in Bali. It seems like everyone is live blogging the conference. You'd be hard pressed to find a delegate not surgically attached to a laptop around here.

Here's a list of some of the best websites (well, aside from this one, of course) for anyone looking to stay on top of the international climate negotiations.

United Nations: The UN has set up a website dedicated to the conference. It's where you can find all the official information about what's going on. The UN also has a live webcast of the conference (I dare you not to fall asleep watching this one). For people with limited time, the UN also posts the daily highlights on Youtube.

It's Getting Hot in Here: Youth delegates in Bali are posting video, photos and text as the conference unfolds. It's an impressive site with lots of insight and energy, kind of like the youth delegates themselves.

Bali Buzz: Bali Buzz is a virtual press room for the Bali conference, streaming the latest news on the UN Bali climate conference from Google News, CAN, and Youth Delegation reports

Grist: Environmental news and commentary, along with the occasional post about what's going on in Bali.

Oxfam: Oxfam representatives in Bali are blogging about the climate change talks with a focus on developing countries.

Dot Earth: This New York Times environment blog is run by Andrew C. Revkin, one of the best environment beat reporters in the business. He's blogging about climate change and Bali.

Posted by Sarah Marchildon at December 04, 2007
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December 04, 2007

UN climate conference: Day 2

International climate change talks are now fully underway in Bali. By the time they wrap up next Friday, countries will have to come to an agreement on a deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

The Bali conference won't actually deliver a fully negotiated climate change deal. But it will lay the foundation for a new deal for the post-2012 period, which is the year when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol expires.

The UN has made it clear that it wants that deal created by 2009 so that it can be ratified and implemented in time. Yes, it can take years for those things to happen (sometimes it feels like the glacial pace of these negotiations is out of step with the urgency of climate change).

The UN has also outlined how success or failure will be measured when the Bali conference wraps up on December 14. Success in Bali will be the launch of negotiations and a clear deadline of 2009 to end the negotiations. It should also include real progress in countries taking on stronger commitments to tackle climate change.

Failure in Bali will be anything short of that. Delaying the talks could create a gap between the Kyoto Protocol and a new agreement.

In addition to the new climate change deal, there are lots of other issues under negotiation at Bali. This includes deeper emission cuts for industrialized countries, adaptation to climate change, the management and operation of a fund for adaptation, technology transfer, reducing emissions from deforestation and issues related to the international carbon market.

It's hard to follow everything that's happening here, especially when the daily agenda is filled with items like "Implications of the establishment of new hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 (HCFC-22) facilities seeking to obtain certified emission reductions for the destruction of hydrofluorocarbon-23 (HFC-23)." Huh?

Other things are much easier to follow, such as Australia's announcement yesterday that it ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

Back at home, Environment Minister John Baird stood up in the House of Commons yesterday and said 2 degrees of average global warming would be "unacceptable." However, Canada's targets and policies will have to be considerably strengthened in order to reflect this new position.

We hope this means Canada will come to Bali with an increased willingness to play a constructive role in the negotiations (a little optimism never hurt anyone).

No one's really sure how it will all turn out yet. Two days down, ten to go.

Posted by Sarah Marchildon at December 04, 2007
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December 02, 2007

Opening day

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

Posted by Sarah Marchildon at December 02, 2007
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