The 13th session
of the Conference of the Parties
to the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (COP-13) is taking
place December 3-14, 2007, in Bali,
Indonesia.
Why it matters
Global climate change is one of
humanity’s most significant
challenges. Without urgent action,
climate change will seriously affect
our way of life, damage fragile
ecosystems, and threaten global
security. No one country can successfully
tackle global climate change on
its own. Unless the governments
of the world make a concerted effort
to reduce emissions, greenhouse
gases will rise to catastrophic
levels.
What to expect
The scientific community warns that
we only have a short window of time
to take serious international action
if we are going to avoid the most
devastating effects of climate change.
With the first commitment period
under the Kyoto Protocol coming
to an end in 2012, the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
meetings in Bali are an opportunity
to set negotiations on the right
path by agreeing to a process that
would deliver a robust agreement
for the next commitment period,
which would be negotiated at UNFCCC
meetings next year in Warsaw and
the following year in Copenhagen.
It is critical that a process be
established in Bali that sets a
2009 deadline for negotiations.
The timeline is already extremely
tight for an effective protocol
to be in place for the next commitment
period. That is why the key outcome
of the Bali meetings will be a process.
Success will be measured not by
whether an agreement on emissions
reductions can be reached (such
a deal is not even on the table)
but by whether counties can agree
on a process and timetable for a
new treaty.
The UN Foundation’s
Contribution Together with the Club
of Madrid – a group of 66
democratic former heads of state
and government – the United
Nations Foundation convened a distinguished
task force called Global Leadership
for Climate Action, comprised
of former heads of government and
other leading figures from 20 countries.
The objective of this diverse group
was to develop and propose the outlines
of a broadly acceptable global climate
agreement. The resulting report,
Framework for a Post-2012 Agreement
on Climate Change, has been
warmly received in international
circles, starting with the G8 Gleneagles
Dialogue in Berlin in September.
This document breaks the complex
subject of climate change down into
four key areas or “pathways”
to agreement: mitigation, adaptation,
technology, and finance. It recommends
that parallel negotiations proceed
along each of these pathways during
2008 and 2009, in order to bring
the world together on a new agreement
and to make further progress in
implementing the 1992 climate treaty.
This framework – the four
pathways, or building blocks –
has become the almost universally
agreed method of organizing the
many complex issues that contribute
to the substance and politics of
the climate issue.
Who’s going
More than 10,000 people from 190
countries are participating in the
UN-hosted talks. In addition to
the official negotiating delegations,
representatives from civil society
and business will be present as
observers.
Participants from the U.S. will
include 70 members of the official
delegation, members and staffers
from Congress, state representatives,
and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs).
Green features:
Indonesia has planted 79 million
trees in the last few weeks to help
offset carbon emissions associated
with the meetings, documents are
being printed on recycled paper,
and 200 mountain bikes have been
provided as alternative transportation.
Setting the Stage: U.S.
Climate Legislation
In an effort to demonstrate U.S.
engagement on climate change, the
Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade bill
was approved by the Senate Environment
and Public Works Committee Dec.
6 on an 11-8 vote and is expected
to go to the full Senate next year.
The bill would commit the U.S. to
mandatory emissions limits for the
six major greenhouse gases. Action
in the Senate is important, as it
is the body that ratifies treaties.
