Climax at Bali (Ohh yes - Yes!)

The international climate conference at Bali came to its final conclusion yesterday after going a day into overtime to resolve certain complaints held by certain party members. ::cough cough::The US::cough cough:: The outcome of the conference is optimistic, even if not Best Case Scenario. We still do not have specific goals for 2020, as scientists say we should, but this does mark a significant turnaround in the climate of climate change. In the end, the US stood deserted by all of its former allies - Japan, Canada, Australia, and Russia - who had been on its side of the debate thusfar. But in the end, it was the US that stood directly in opposition to the wills of every other nation represented at the conference.

The friction at Bali stemmed from a simple fact: No environmental treaty would succeed without the US on board. As producer of 25% of world GHG emissions, their cooperation was essential. Bush knew that, and used it to his advantage for much of the two weeks, achieving such aims as to cut out the provision of specific emissions goals for 2020 in the last few days of the conference. But what Bush and his administration failed to realize was that he had no friends in the Bali conference, and they would proceed without him if they found it necessary. This was highlighted by the EU's promise to boycott Bush's planned climate meeting in Hawaii next month, and by former Vice President Al Gore speaking out directly against his old opponant, saying: "I am not a representative of my government, so I am not bound by diplomatic niceties. My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali. [Applause.] We all know that." (qtd in "Letter from Bali: A Tragic Truth", by guest writer Andrew Light at Gristmill: Environmental News and Commentary.) (See? I did learn something in Writing 121!) With the pressure both domestic and foreign threatening to burst, the Bush administration finally decided to bow with some semblance of dignity remaining, and go along with the consensus.

As said wonderfully in an article that I, unfortunately, cannot locate at this moment, "It should be difficult for a country to make the final concession that enables a treaty to move forward and still appear self-centered and churlish. Yet somehow the US has done so."

Somewhat overlooked in the final drama over emissions cuts is one of the real successes of the Bali conference, an initiative for countries to prevent deforestation, especially in rainforest nations.

The Bali conference has made no final decisions yet: It is pending a further 2 years of negotiations to produce a treaty by the end of 2009 to replace the Kyoto protocol after 2012. Until then, the US is still the only industrialized nation to not have ratified the Kyoto protocol. Also note the careful positioning of the 2009 deadline to several months *after* Bush leaves office. There is little doubt that environmental concerns will play a huge role in 2008's presidential campaigns.