The atmosphere inside and outside the Bali International Convention Center is different as the ongoing conference is bringing together thousands of representative from over 180 countries, as well as observers from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, who are intensively discussing and negotiating on ways and measures that should be adopted to combat climate change.
Worldwide efforts on tackling the worsening global warming is gaining steam and momentum at the conference, which is tasked with drawing up a "roadmap" for negotiations on a new deal before the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires by 2012.
As numerous discussions, meetings and press conferences were going on inside the closed doors at the center, dozens of side events were being held by nongovernmental organizations, academics, the private sector and others. All were trying to sell their idea on how to save the planet.
Some organizations were sounding alarming bells about the climate change in their press releases and publications, and called for immediate actions in tackling the challenge of climate change. Others were trying to offer solutions to the problem.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Yve de Boer said that the climate change being felt around the world has created a public awareness about the issue of global warming.
This year's scientific report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made clear beyond doubt that climate change is a reality and can seriously harm the future development of the world's economies, societies and eco-systems. Human activities are blamed for the accelerating global warming.
On the conference's progress so far, Yve de Boer said that the meetings were "going well." He termed the fact that many countries have come prepared with their own proposals on how the process should move forward as "encouraging."
The climate change is such a "big and complicated" issue. The problem can only be solved by working together, he said, adding that however, the Bali conference would not finalize a post-2012 climate deal, but could "put in place a two-year process to work towards such a deal."
He also said that "I think it's clear to everyone that industrialized countries must continue to take the lead (in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases) and must reduce their emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020."
The challenge for most of the developing countries in the world in tackling the climate change is how to achieve a balance in growing economy, while reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, he said.
He hoped that modern clean technology can help developing countries grow economy in a clean way so as to reduce air pollution which leads to high public health costs and help them avoid making the same mistakes that were made in the West.
The main goal of the Bali Conference is to launch negotiations on a climate change deal for the post-2012 period, to set the agenda for these negotiations and to reach agreement on when these negotiations will have to be concluded, according to the UNFCCC.
The U.N. climate change conference, which kicked off on Dec. 3 and will end on Dec. 14. At the end of the conference, a decision is expected to launch a new process to shape a deal on a post-2012 climate change regime, said the UNFCCC.
(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2007)
