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)
