Once in the square, participants gathered to hear speakers including Caroline Lucas MEP and Norwich Green councillor Andrew Boswell give their views on the state of the talks in Bali. As they waited to get started, announcements went out about demonstrations around the world. The ‘angry skiers’ took to the streets of Helsinki; 3,000 people were out in Nepal, 10,000 in Germany, 10,000 in Taiwan, and in Bali...
In Bali, protests were ongoing throughout the conference. The Global Day of Action occurred at its halfway point, by which time there was already concern about the direction the talks were going to take. Ahead of the talks, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had issued a stark warning to Governments in its Fourth Assessment Synthesis Report, the recommendations of which were a warning about the direction of Western, if not global, policy. But by 13 December, a document leaked to Greenpeace confirmed what many had suspected - the US was resisting all efforts to tackle climate change. This was not a great surprise, since the US was rattled by the loss of a key supporter, Australia, prior to the conference: John Howard’s right wing, climate change-denying Government had lost the country’s general election only days before.
As the conference drew to a conclusion, a bloc led by the USA successfully opposed the setting of any targets, leaving these to be decided at the UN Summit in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 which will finally agree a successor to Kyoto. The Green Party’s spokesperson on Climate Change, Cllr James Abott, commented: “The outcome of the Bali talks was as disappointing as it is predictable. Several major nations, notably again including the USA, continue to put their own economic priorities, based on business as usual growth, before the future of the world’s climate. Whilst the agreement to work towards a successor to Kyoto over the next two years is welcome, it is more “jam tomorrow” promises of the sort we have seen for all too long.”
For Greens, it is easy (and, perhaps, inevitable) to be disheartened. Serious action is slow in coming, Green Party policies have always looked at the bigger picture and the realisation that climate change is one part of the social justice jigsaw is still absent in much political rhetoric.
But it is easy to forget that there are positives. As the chair of the party’s executive, Cllr Richard Mallender, points out: “It’s good that this time around all nations have actually agreed that climate change is a problem that seriously needs to be addressed.” For the first time, the US signed up to a statement that acknowledged that the evidence for the planet’s warning is “unequivocal” and that called for “deep cuts” in greenhouse gas emissions.
There was much recognition of the difficult position that developing countries have in the jigsaw. Early on in the conference, the UK and Netherlands, together with the World Bank, announced funding of up to £3 million for a new research study that will support developing countries to prepare for climate change. And the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and others welcomed the news of an operational Adaptation Fund for vulnerable countries by 2008.
While the rainforests are still waiting for international protection from Biofuel crops and other reasons for deforestation, some hope came from Guyana. ‘The Independent’ reported on a UK-backed offer by the President of Guyana to put the country’s 50 million acres of Rainforest under the control of a British-led international body. In return, they would receive aid and technical assistance to Green their economy.
And while the bigwigs around the negotiating table squabbled, NGO The Climate Group applauded the actions of state and regional governments. A report released at the conference illustrated that the international leadership of sub-national governments are setting emissions reduction targets that are often more ambitious than the commitments pledged by national governments under the Kyoto Protocol.
The EU position was one aspect of this, as Green MEP Jean Lambert commented: “The EU showed a united front at Bali and without this pressure the agreement probably wouldn’t have taken place. Now the question is: will the European public position will translate into dynamic action in the member states?”
So there are some things for Greens to be positive about. After more than twenty years, the pressure on government(s) to recognise Climate Change has paid off. Green Party members’ tireless campaigning and actions at a local level have, in no small measure, made this conference possible. The two years of planned negotiations under the ‘Bali Roadmap’ will result in having an agreement that will replace Kyoto. Until then Greens will continue to apply the pressure needed to force a successful outcome.
The Climate Group’s report “Low Carbon Leader: States and Regions” is at: www.theclimategroup.org
The ipcc’s Fourth Assessment Report is available at: www.ipcc.ch
Details of the Global Climate Campaign is at: www.globalclimatecampaign.org
The IIED has produced two opinion papers since the conference: www.iied.org/pubs
