Bold action demanded at climate talks, but delegates divided

Dec 5, 2007, 11:25 GMT

Bali Island, Indonesia - Delegates from nearly 190 countries attending a UN climate change conference were urged Wednesday to exercise bold and visionary leadership to build a framework for a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, but a UN official said the delegates were at odds about what the outcome of the talks should be.

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty said industrialization and the carbon-intensive lifestyle in rich countries have led to increased poverty and inequality in poor countries. The advocacy group argued that tackling climate change is an issue of justice.

'Bali must be the place scientific evidence is translated into real, bold action,' said the Climate Action Network, an alliance of non-governmental organizations.

Although such groups urged leaders at the conference to take concrete action to fight global warming, Yvo de Boer, general secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said delegates were in disagreement about the aim of the two weeks of meetings.

Boer said from the conference venue in Nusa Dua that views differed on whether formal post-Kyoto talks should be launched at the conference, how long those talks should last and what the agenda should be.

'Some think an informal dialogue would be enough' in Bali, he said.

Boer did not say which countries were taking such a stand, but informal talks have long been the stance of the Group of 77 developing countries. Its members have feared that a new treaty might limit their greenhouse gas emissions and, with them, their economic growth.

The Kyoto accord, which prescribes emission cuts for 36 industrialized nations and expires in 2012, did not require mandatory reductions for developing countries, such as China, which by some accounts surpassed the United States as the largest greenhouse gas producer this year.

The Climate Action Network said, however, that signals from a large number of developing countries - including China, Brazil, South Africa and major regional blocs such as Africa and the Association of South-East Asian Nations - were encouraging. It said it hopes to see an emerging group of countries collaborating closely to lead talks toward a successful outcome of the conference, which ends December 14.

The Bali conference culminates a momentous year in the global climate debate. It followed a series of reports from international scientists that concluded the world has the capability to slow global warming but must act immediately to avert disaster.

The reports said the level of greenhouse gas emissions must be stabilized by 2015 and then decline to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

A group of 30 Balinese dancers, organized by the Tropical Forest Group, staged a performance to show their support for saving forests. While they danced, the group unfurled a banner reading, 'Earth needs early action on REDD.'

REDD, or the Reduction Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries, has been among the hot topics at the conference.

REDD involves creating financial incentives for developing countries that empower them to slow down their rates of deforestation. The most promising source of new funding contemplated by the international community to help lower deforestation is through the emerging carbon market.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said technology transfer is one of the key elements in deploying solutions to climate change around the world. New technology to reduce carbon emissions is becoming more affordable every day but it needs to be widely available to the countries, companies and communities that need it most, it said.

'Technology transfer and cooperation is an essential part of any post-2012 climate deal and is moving centre stage in the negotiations in Bali,' said Hans Verolme, director of the WWF's climate change programme.

But technology transfer has been languishing on the margins of the discussions, many activists said.

Aside from the question of involvement by the United States, the only industrialized country not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the Bali meeting was also expected to address the extent to which emerging powers such as China and India should control their skyrocketing emissions. Also high on the agenda would be measures to help the world's poorest countries adapt to a worsening climate.

The United Nations said a new agreement to replace Kyoto must be reached within two years to give governments time to ratify it and to ensure a smooth, uninterrupted transition.