Bali+Forum

The Bali Forum

WebQuest
I. Bali Forum Climate Road Map A. Industrialized Nations: United States and Europe 1.The United States and Europe were largely responsible for taking the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas emitted by the burning of fossil fuels, to its current concentration of 380 parts per million from 280, a level which, until the industrial revolution, was not exceeded in at least 650,000 years. B. Developing Nations: China,India, Brazil 1. Without citing China and India by name, it clearly singled them out, saying: “The negotiations must proceed on the view that the problem of climate change cannot be adequately addressed through commitments for emissions cuts by developed countries alone. Major developing economies must likewise act.” In the talks, China and other emerging powers did inch forward, agreeing for the first time to seek ways to make “measurable, reportable and verifiable” emissions cuts. But those countries showed no signs of agreeing to any mandatory restrictions any time soon, saying their priority remained growing out of poverty. C. Rainforests: Indonesia and Brazil 1. The agreement also establishes a mechanism for giving tropical nations financial compensation for preserving their rain forests and calls for expanding financial aid for countries struggling to adapt to climate change. "We want to do our part," said Conrad, of Papua New Guinea, which has led the fight for a program to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. "It's just a matter of how do we do our part, in an equitable way." D. The Poor 1. The adaptation fund is to be maintained using a 2 percent tax on transactions in the Clean Development Mechanism, under which rich nations receive carbon credits for investing in sustainable projects in developing countries. The fund is intended to help protect those most vulnerable to the ill effects of climate change, like drought, flooding and severe storms. “For the poor, this is clearly a recognition that participants here in Bali are serious about their concerns,” said Monique Barbut, chief executive officer of the Global Environment Fund. “They can see that there has been a shift at the conference. It is not all about who is emitting, but it is also about the ones who are suffering from those emissions.”... In the past few years, negotiations over a global climate treaty have developed a dual focus — mitigating climate change and adapting to it. Some analysts, however, are skeptical about just how significant the establishment of the adaptation fund will be for the world’s defense against environmental disasters associated with rising temperatures. A recent United Nations Human Development Report detailed how the poor, especially along the equator, are the most vulnerable to climate hazards and attacked rich countries for not honoring their original financial commitments to help. The report said that an additional 600 million people would be hungry, 200 million more displaced by floods and 400 million more exposed to diseases like malaria and dengue, if the world’s temperature were to rise just 2 degrees Celsius. E. There were many moments of drama and theater in the negotiations, at a resort complex on the southern tip of Bali, involving 11,000 officials, environmentalists, industry lobbyists and journalists. But nothing else matched the point on Saturday, in the final tumultuous plenary, when the American team was booed for trying to block a proposal by India. ||
 * || Global Climate Change