The Bali Roadmap in Copenhagen

The timetable for the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I countries, following the expiry of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, and

The Bali Action Plan which sets out key areas of UNFCCC of mitigation, technology, finance and adaptation, to be negotiated with a view to reaching a new global climate change deal in Copenhagen at the end of 2009. It recognizes the importance of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation ( REDD ) in developing countries and a system of international finance to meet this goal.

The Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 rewards developing nations that reduce GHG emissions in energy efficiency or renewable energy projects and allows developed countries to buy these emission rights from them. This market-based mechanism does not include schemes that preserve tropical rainforests.

The meeting of the UN Conference of the Parties 2007 in Bali achieved a major break through. 27 countries, including the US and China, recognize the importance of reducing deforestation emissions and an accompanying system of international finance in the global fight against climate change. This new low-carbon-cleaner-energy economy will create carbon market incentives for sustainable forestry management for countries with rainforests.

The success to reduce emissions reduction via deforestation prevention highly depends on the financial ability of a country in its fight against the loggers and other agents of deforestation. It is not possible to preserve the forests without economic planning projects for the forests. It is not possible too to prevent logging without offering economic alternatives to logging.

Under a scheme called Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD), developing nations that conserve their forests will be rewarded with financial returns through carbon credit awards.

A few countries, notably Brazil and Guyana, endowed with huge rainforest resources behind them, have started to identify strategic investments along this direction. It is alarming that Amazon deforestation jumped by 69% in 2008 compared to 2007's.

Brazil have declared its deforestation a national emergency and announces plan to slash rainforest destruction. In August 2008 Brazil's government created the Amazon Fund, a mechanism for foreign governments to help pay for the protection of the world's largest tropical rainforest and combat global warming. In September Norway's government became the first to contribute to the fund, pledging $1bn (£668m).

Indonesia, which is losing vast areas of forest every year due to extensive illegal deforestation, is keen to conserve what is left of its valuable natural resource. Some parties have already taken a head start by signing agreements with international carbon investment companies.

California has also pledged financial and technical support to help Brazil and Indonesia reduce deforestation in late 2008.

This focus of the Bali Action Plan on REDD has raised the concern of many forest sector stakeholders - environmental and social groups, business, indigenous peoples' and forest community groups, trade unions, forest owners and international organizations. They feel the approach is narrow and view necessary a broader approach on the part of the government. Strategy should include tackling issues of drivers of deforestation outside the forest sector; accountable governance; clarification of tenure, property and carbon right; and capacity funding.

Advancing to COP 14 in Poznan in 2008, the Bali Action Plan outlined the key elements of the negotiation process paving the way for further negotiations at COP 15 to be held in Copenhagen in Dec 2009:

1.	A shared vision for long-term cooperation on the research and development of current, new and innovative technology, and cooperation within sectors.
2.	Enhanced national/international action on climate change mitigation
3.	Enhanced action on adaptation
4.	Enhanced action on technology, development and transfer. It covers issues related to the removal of obstacles to and provision of incentives for scaling-up and accelerating low-carbon technology deployment, diffusion and transfer to developing countries.
5.	Enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment.

In the Bali Action Plan, the USA was made to commit to certain emissions reduction target. Accord was hard to reach and the outcome was a weak commitment, varying between
10-40%. The political reality is that few will be prepared to assume binding post 2012 commitments without some concrete commitment from the US, China, India and Brazil. All are waiting for one another to strike a clear figure. So which comes first, the chicken or the egg...............?

Reference or related news:

Saving Rainforests A Thorny Issue at the Bali Talks: Reuters - Dec 06, 2007
Towards A Low Carbon Economy: WBCSD

Top »