Climate change meeting starts, Australia ratifies

Monday, 3 December 2007

The latest two-week climate change conference started today at the Nusa Dua Conference Centre in Bali, Indonesia. Negotiators hope to agree the key areas of a new climate change deal. The conference warmly greeted news that Australia had ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

 

The first phase of the Kyoto Protocol is due to start at the beginning of 2008 and end in 2012. Negotiators in Bali are now turning their attentition to the agreement that will follow. This process will require agreement on a 'roadmap' that will set out the negotiation process towards a post-2012 agreement. It is expected that the roadmap will set out a detailed agenda for negotiations in 2008 and 2009, which will take place in Poland and Denmark.

 

Key to the success of the negotiations will be agreement on the nature of participation by large developing countries, which are responsible for a growing share of global greenhouse gas emissions. Administrations of countries such as the United States believe that any future agreement will be ineffective without the participation of developing countries such as India, China, Brazil and Indonesia. However, developing countries are keen to see demonstable progress in emissions reductions by developed countries.

Parties will be looking to reach agreement on measures to reduce deforestation and how funds will be used to finance adaptation projects.

 

The Bali meeting is the thirteenth of the 192 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the third of the 176 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

 

The Kyoto Protocol now has a new supporter, following ratification by new Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. Rudd's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol was one of his first actions since taking office. The news of Australia's ratification was greeted with applause in the main conference room at Nusa Dua.