Breakthrough at Bali: The US Signs On… At Last

The US decade-long boycott of international progress on climate change has finally come to an end. For ten years, the United States has sent diplomats to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conferences (UNFCCC) with the single goal of preventing progress.

At each meeting, US delegates historically demand that the convention abandon mandatory carbon emission caps and then make a big show of walking out of the convention when this doesn’t seem likely.

In Bali, it was starting to look like more of the same. With the US demanding that it be given weaker emissions targets than the other 186 countries at the table, time was running out and another stalemate looked likely. The scene was tense and in extreme frustration Yvo de Boer, UN Climate Chief, left the table in tears.

But finally the US felt the heat. Under intense pressure from the international community and US citizens themselves, the United States agreed to move ahead with the rest of the world.

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In his closing statement, Rachmat Witoelar, President of the UN Climate Change Conference, declared:

“I realize that you have been waiting a long time for this moment and, I can
assure you that it was well worth the wait.

We have a Roadmap!

I am delighted to say that we have finally achieved the breakthrough the
world has been waiting for: the Bali Roadmap!”

This Roadmap will serve to help countries work collaboratively to meet emissions targets after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. It opens up a dialogue that countries can now follow on climate change legislation progress. It also includes three core elements, which the UNFCCC describes as the “launch of the Adaptation Fund as well as decisions on technology transfer and on reducing emissions from deforestation.”

References and Resources:

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali | UNFCCC

Breakthrough in Bali | David Suzuki Foundation

Photo Source:

Bali Convention Center | Flickr

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