Critical negotiations over how to combat climate change moved at a snail’s pace as the United States hesitated to commit itself to action at the United Nations’s climate change conference in Bali this week.
The negotiations were meant to result in a ‘Bali road map†of recommendations on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but this had not been finalised by Thursday.
However, South Africa was praised for keeping negotiations alive; for its flexibility and willingness to put offers on the table.
The ‘road map†will chart the way towards a plan to replace the current Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012. But it will do little more than tell negotiators how to proceed towards a final deal, widely expected to be concluded in 2009, when the fine detail on emission caps will be decided at a conference in Copenhagen.
The negotiations were given urgency by the publication last month of a report by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, which warned of irreversible natural catastrophes if greenhouse emissions are not reined in.
On Thursday, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told reporters that he was seriously concerned about negotiations. ‘When the weekend rolls around, time is up,†he said. ‘If we don’t get work done on future negotiations, the whole house of cards will fall and we could end up with no clarity for the future.â€
Despite the deadlocks, delegates were optimistic that a strong Bali road map would be drawn up before the conference ended on Saturday.
Jennifer Morgan, director of climate and energy security at Third Generation Environmentalism (e3g), was critical of US tactics. The world’s biggest emitter has been playing a dangerous game, in which it appears to be working towards a deal while blocking critical negotiations. ‘We know that there is a wrecking crew — the US, followed by its minions Canada, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, with Australia shadowing close behind,†Morgan said. ‘They are working hard to pull down the text in negotiations that are important for developing countries — [on issues] such as that of transferring technologies to fight climate change to poorer countries.â€
The director of e3g’s global climate change programme, Hans Verolme, said: ‘What they are setting up is a showdown so that they can tell people back home they tried their best.†Morgan said the Bush administration wants to ‘push all developing countries’ buttons so that it looks like they are responsible for the collapseâ€.
Yet there is huge pressure to include the US in any Bali deal, Verolme said. UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon and Britain’s environment secretary, Hilary Benn, also agreed that the US had to remain part of the negotiating process — even if that meant compromising the content of the final document.
The Climate Action Network praised the role of developing countries in trying to overcome deadlocks. On Wednesday evening, Morgan said countries such as South Africa, China and Brazil demonstrated flexibility about concessions. ‘The US was silent that night,†she added.