Yesterday was the first day of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Bali. More specifically, it was the first day of the thirteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the third Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 3), the twenty-seventh sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 27) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 27), and last but not least, the resumed fourth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex 1 Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG 4). If that sounds like a lot and somewhat unintelligible, well, it is. Yet for such an official and confusing title, the experience of being at Bali Conference is one that swings between the ridiculously complex to the childish and impudent. The conference is perhaps best summed up by the way it started, with a music video. If a music video cannot insure the success of a conference, one has to wonder what will.
On the one hand you have the negotiations which you have to do a year’s worth of background reading just to understand; to unfamiliar ears, the negotiations may as well be in a different language. Then on the other you end up riding the free bikes in a suit to go between the conference centers; after arriving late to our first two events, we quickly discovered that walking was not a practical solution, nor was it pleasurable in the heat.
There are intense arguments over what a proposed policy point should be, then there is dancing to the “Its Getting Hot in Here” song. There was the recent shift in Australian leadership leading to a promise to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which would make the US the only industrialized nation not to do so, and the “Fossil of the Day Awards” which “celebrated” that very embarrassing fact with great pageantry and a ceremonious bag of coal.
Frankly, that dichotomy is really indicative of the whole climate change debate. On one hand, it is absolutely one of most serious challenges humankind has ever faced and on the other, nations still try to dance around it and fail to make strong changes that are required to insure our future. Today, among other things, Saudi Arabia called for compensation for any potential loss in revenue from decreased demand for oil and Canada stated that industrializing countries should be subject to the exact same standards as already industrialized countries, totally ignoring the principle of shared but differentiated responsibility. I share the high hopes of many at this conference, but if a Bali breakthrough is to be achieved, it is time to leave the absurdity to the side events and gimmicks rather than the actions of the negotiating delegates.
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Hey!! Just reading these few first news about Bali and my heart is already beating so quickly…At least, this year, COP 13 is starting with a really good new which is full of hope : Australia is now in!!! Thanks you to keep us informed and please keep blogging and showing these beautiful pics from a land who might not look the way it does now if no serious action is taken NOW….
You are right, dichotomy is exactly the good word to use. Once more a really good report, the UN report on human development 2007-08 entitled Fighting climate change : Human solidarity in a divided world (http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008/chapters/) nicely illustrates it.
The future of so many people, and especially the most vulnerable one is negociated …. negocations … I hate that word. And these statements you cited from Saudi Arabia and Canada fully illustrates that. How to get these world decisions makers care for the entire humanity rather than for themselves only (or the richest people of their country?)???
In solidarity and eagerness to hear more about whats happening at COP 13, Lorie.
Hey!! Just reading these few first news about Bali and my heart is already beating so quickly…At least, this year, COP 13 is starting with a really good new which is full of hope : Australia is now in!!! Thanks you to keep us informed and please keep blogging and showing these beautiful pics from a land who might not look the way it does now if no serious action is taken NOW….
You are right, dichotomy is exactly the good word to use. Once more a really good report, the UN report on human development 2007-08 entitled Fighting climate change : Human solidarity in a divided world (http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008/chapters/) nicely illustrates it.
The future of so many people, and especially the most vulnerable one is negotiated …. negotiations … I hate that word. And these statements you cited from Saudi Arabia and Canada fully illustrates that. How to get these world decisions maker care for the entire humanity rather than for themselves only (or the richest people of their country?)???
In solidarity and eagerness to hear more about whats happening at COP 13, Lorie.
Great for you all. Start where we….get better ideas…find ways to implement them. Keep up the press(pressure), push, and
need to change.
Thanks for the insights into the conference. The big picture for each nation to ponder is how to put aside individual considerations for the greater good.
I am so glad to read the articles written by the youth at this important conference in Bali. I’ve been getting emails from others and have signed two petitions. I’m looking forward to reading Al Gore’s speech when he arrives later on. There is so much to be done and it CAN be done. Keep on track, keep up the good work! Thanks for your efforts, persistence, and courage to face the issues.