BaliBuzz: Bali Talks Underway, Fossil Fuels… Here to Stay?

After many months of anticipation, the United Nations climate change negotiations are finally underway in Bali, Indonesia.

The meeting opened yesterday with a formal plenary, along with a parallel flurry of press conferences, side events, exhibitions, and creative advocacy efforts. The energy at Bali is palpable, and the mounting momentum is a testament to the significance of this conference.

UN climate bigwig Yvo de Boer- formally, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, set the tone for the process in his statements:

To the dismay of many of us here in Bali, de Boer’s message was punctuated with a reference to the permanence of fossil fuels. And so begin the negotiations, the skillful weaving of a web of interests and rhetoric. But we’ve all come to Bali for a breakthrough, not for business as usual or lip service.

Is a climate regime that caters to the fossil fuel industry really the best we can do?

3 Responses to “BaliBuzz: Bali Talks Underway, Fossil Fuels… Here to Stay?”

Feed for this Entry Trackback Address

1 kevin smith Dec 4th, 2007 at 8:28 am

For an alternative take on the Bali climate talks, check out Alter Eco – Offsetting Emissions, which you can download from http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?act_id=17652

Alter-Eco is published by a group of NGOs, IPOs and social movements at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP-13 who came together to make a unified call in support of real solutions to climate change and against the false market-based solutions to climate change that are being implemented under the Kyoto Protocol.

We join together to produce Alter-Eco as an instrument through which to project our collective voice, which reflects the views and concerns of grassroots constituencies and impacted communities all over the world.
2 R Margolis Dec 4th, 2007 at 8:42 am

However, he did not say what percentage fossil fuels would be. I have not heard any serious expert say we are going to fully eliminate all fossil fuels. It would still be significant if fossil fuel use were significantly reduced and the remainder to have carbon sequestration. With such a large population in the developing world, such large energy needs will likely require some fossil fuel energy.

1 Readers Edition » Auf nach Bali! Stimmen zur Klimakonferenz II Trackback on Dec 4th, 2007 at 10:04 pm

About Sasha

Sasha is a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation to Bali. A Vancouver native, she is currently pursuing a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Her interests lie primarily with the intersection of transnational challenges, human rights, and international policy, with an emphasis on African affairs. Sasha has been engaged with environmental issues on many fronts, working with the Office of Sustainability Programs to draft greenhouse gas emission reduction policies for the University of New Hampshire, collaborating on sustainable development projects in West Africa, and deploying as a disaster relief worker to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. A self-proclaimed nomad, Sasha spent the summer of 2007 leading a backpacking expedition in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.