Brussels, 12/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - All questions are as yet unanswered, as regards the success of the Bali conference on post-2012, which entered its decisive phase on 10 December, with the top-level meeting between the 190 countries represented. Two days ahead of the close of this 16th conference of the parties to the framework Convention of the United Nations on climate change, the United States - which is the only industrialised country which has not yet ratified the 10-year-old Kyoto Protocol - is increasingly isolated, but still refusing to hear of any specific objectives for the reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions. The large emerging countries such as India and China, for their part, continue to take the view that it is up to the industrialised countries to lead by example, if they want the less industrialised countries to commit in turn.
There is nothing astonishing in the fact that calls for progress are multiplying for Bali to define the framework and roadmap for negotiations on the global regime to step up the fight against climate change post-2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol is set to expire. On Wednesday 12 December, Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, urged the ministers to obtain a “breakthrough”, unless they want to be deficient in their duties. “The fate of the future generations depends on this”, he warned.
Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment, reiterating the urgent need to reach a consensus in Bali in order to be able to launch these negotiations, said: “We must also set a cut-off date for negotiations to conclude before the end of 2009”, a vital condition if the agreement is to be ratified and enter into force before the end of 2012, “and we must establish the roadmap of Bali to steer the negotiations”. This road map must, he continued, list the major pillars of the agreement and the level of ambition targeted. He went on to point out that as far as the EU is concerned, the required level of ambition consists of limiting global warming to 2°C above the level of the pre-industrial era and agreeing to a peak in emissions over the next 10-15 years, in order to achieve a reduction of at least 50% in overall emissions by 2050. It also consists of the commitment of the developed countries collectively to reduce their emissions by 30% by 2020 and by between 60% and 80% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels. “The developed countries have both a moral obligation and the resources required to take the lead in reduction efforts”, he said.
Alejo Vidal Quadras (EPP-ED, Spain) a member of the delegation of the European Parliament to Bali, stated that “a roadmap without clarifications, reference points or any precise target, is not a roadmap (…). The developing countries fear that behind the rhetoric on climate change, a protectionist agenda is hidden, which put the brakes on the Bali negotiations from the word go”. He went on to plead for the industrialised countries to take the measures necessary to gain the confidence of the developing countries. “It is time to recognise the provisions taken by China, India, and other emerging economies”. (A.N.)