About 10,000 delegates from nearly 190 countries are in Bali today for a massive UN conference on climate change. The focus of the conference is to begin negotiations on an international agreement to fight climate change after 2012 -- when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires.
The main goals of the conference are to:
- launch negotiations on a climate change deal for the post-2012 period
- set the agenda for the negotiations
- reach agreement on when these negotiations will have to be concluded.
"The eyes of the world are upon you. There is a huge responsibility for Bali to deliver,'' said Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the conference. "The world now expects a quantum leap forward.''
In an effort to get the talks started on a positive note, Indonesia planted millions of trees to soak up the estimated 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases expected to be created by delegates flying to Bali to attend the conference.
A key aim of the conference will be to ensure that the United States signs on to any new agreement. The American delegation in Bali has said it would not work as a "roadblock" to a new agreement.
However, the U.S. remains opposed to certain measures -- such as mandatory emissions cuts by wealthy nations and a target for limiting the rise in global temperatures -- that are supported by many countries in attendance.
On Monday, Australia signed papers to ratify the Kyoto Protocol climate pact -- leaving the U.S. as the only industrial power to not have joined.
The U.S. is the world's number one emitter of greenhouse gases.
"There's going to be a lot of pressure now and the Bush administration is increasingly isolated on this with now the Australians leaving them," Dale Marshall, of the David Suzuki Foundation, told Â鶹´«Ã½net on Monday.
On Sunday, Canada's Environment Minister John Baird said any deal needs to include the world's major producers of greenhouse gases.
"We want to negotiate an agreement that's tough and effective and brings in all the big players," Baird told CTV's Question Period, adding that failure is not an option.
The Harper government's plan would see Canada cut its emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. However, the Tories use 2006 as a baseline, not Kyoto's 1990 baseline. Climate analysts say under the Harper plan, Canada wouldn't reach its Kyoto target of a six per cent cut below 1990 levels by 2012 until 2020.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has said that he will attend the conference despite the fact that the Harper government has not invited any opposition members.
Dion has said that the Harper government is attempting to sabotage the Kyoto Protocol, and has written a letter asking that it reverse its decision on opposition participation.
But Baird said that Dion has already had his chance to deal with climate change as a member of the previous Liberal government and failed to take action.
"Since Kyoto was signed 10 years ago, under Stephane Dion's leadership, greenhouse gases went up by 35.9 per cent," he said, "We have one of the worst records in the developing world. I think Canada can do a lot better."
The Tories have appointed former Parti Qu�b�cois premier Pierre-Marc Johnson to lead its advisory team at the conference, reports The Globe and Mail.
Johnson, premier for part of 1985, could help the Conservatives build support in Quebec. The Tories have faced criticism in the province for their position on Kyoto -- that its objectives are unattainable -- and for opposing binding commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions in developed nations.
"It's not who's sitting in Canada's chair, it's what are the positions," Marshall said from Bali. "Right now, the international position for Canada is quite weak and we don't have a lot of credibility, frankly, given our weak domestic policies."
The UN wants an agreement on a replacement pact for Kyoto to be decided by 2009 so that it can be implemented in time. The conference continues until Dec. 14.
With files from The Associated Press
