Reports from Bali
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| Louisville Climate Action Network |
Art Williams, the director of Louisville's Air Pollution Control
District, is in Bali, Indonesia, representing the National
Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) at the United
Nations conference for constructing efforts to build upon the
Kyoto Protocol. Read Art's fifth report below:
District, is in Bali, Indonesia, representing the National
Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) at the United
Nations conference for constructing efforts to build upon the
Kyoto Protocol. Read Art's fifth report below:
Friday morning, December 14.
Well, As Yogi Berra said it ain't over till it's over, and it's not yet over. After a
powerful speech by Gore to a couple of thousand of us (how I got a seat inside the
plenary while some delegates had to watch it on a TV outside the hall I have no
idea) the delegates pulled an all-nighter and allegedly went until 3AM last night.
Agreements have apparently been reached on key language relating to technology
transfer and some key initiatives to slow or halt deforestation.
But, the US, Russia, Japan and Canada (with the US in the lead) continue to hold
out on agreeing to language on targets and timetables. The rest of the world
wants some specific targets included in the text for the next period after the
last year of Kyoto, 2012, specifically 25-40% reduction by 2020. For the time
being (read: duration of the Bush administration) the US wants only general
qualitative language about reductions, without specifics to 2008 or later.
Apparently, during the wee morning hours, the US actually put a proposal on the
table--or tried to--that would have sought to set aside the Kyoto Protocol. A
stunned silence allegedly fell over the hall and then everyone moved on--in
disbelief. Maybe it was a payback poke in the eye to Gore's powerful speech
earlier, in which he eviscerated the Bush administration every which way but
loose--well--come to think of it he did that too. So, all in a night's fun--right?
It's too soon to say what the end game will be here on this key issue. Word in the
conference hallways is that the delegates are now assuming they'll be working
through tomorrow--though noon today is technically the deadline. While I stayed
for the entirety of the final 24 hour marathon session to 4am in Kyoto in
1997--I'm not likely to do so this year. Besides, I haven't seen much of Bali
beyond the conference center and I hope to go gaze into one of the island's active
volcanoes before sunset tonight.
I attended the side event hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce.
Two points: Sectoral agreements are making a strong move to be included as
formal mechanisms in the post-2012 framework. These are agreements by major
emitters in key sectors--steel, cement and automotive--where they set their own
targets that would operate within the framework of the international framework.
The world's apparent best thinker on this stuff, Richard Baron, sees this as
unworkable within the UNFCCC framework. Too much leakage and gaming. Keep an
eye on this one--it may have legs.
Another interesting point made by a key thought leader on carbon capture and
storage is that it really can't move forward as a mechanism until the role of
government (I presume at a national level in general) is clarified. In short, no
private sector entity will last long enough to ensure the integrity of storage
fields, so it must fall to government for long-term monitoring and storage
responsibilities. Many contend that something along the lines of the system that
has emerged for the long-term storage of nuclear waste is needed. It's an area
where I've heard basically no discussion in the states--it's just been about the
techincal feasibility. Stay tuned on that one as well.
In a side event on mobile source issues I found the most interesting part of the
discussion to be the pressing questions asked by a representative of Google
to the vehicle manufacturers. As we've heard a few weeks ago, Google is planning
a substantial move into clean energy R&D. It's presence here would seem to
confirm those efforts.
The Climate Registry (TCR) held a side event in the late afternoon and perhaps
the most intriguing part of the discussion focused on the possibility of TCR
eventually morphing into THE global mechanism for a registry--and beyond (an
international trading system). Apparently, Australia (which attended the event)
has expressed some interest in TCR and it's generally recognized that there's an
increasing likelihood that we're close in time (2-3 years) to having the EU and US
initiatives link up. Exciting stuff. Diane Wittenberg, the new President of TCR
who moderated this side event, graciously recognized our (NACAA) presence in
Bali and noted my participation and role in the steering committee in the
formation of TCR.
As I mentioned at the start if this post, I was honored to be able to attend the
Gore presentation. I assume it will soon be on youtube.com or elsewhere online
and I commend it to you. It was a very powerful statement. He was clearly a
little jet-lagged, having just come from Oslo where he received the Nobel Peace
Prize the day before. His talk was liberally laced with science, literature,
religion, humor and politics. It was informative and motivational. It was political
and pragmatic. It was very well-received--interrupted numerous times by raucus
applause.
Gore cited the African Proverb: If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want
to go far, you must go together.
Noting that humanity is embarked on a journey where we have never been
before--both in the scope of the problem and the challenge of solving it he cited
the "Pathwalker" as having said, "There is no path, you must make the path as you
go." And, in his closing, Gore asserted that future generations will ask of ours one
of two questions. Either, our generation having failed to take action, "What were
you thinking?" or our generation having risen to the occasion and taken action,
"How did you find the moral courage to address the crisis?"
In his final remark he asked the group to note and remember that political will is a
renewable resource.
The final head count at the conference comes in at 10,828 registered
participants. I've made some new friends here along the way--especially some
folks from Suwon, South Korea. English has clearly become the dominant language
of the globe--much much more so than even a decade ago in Kyoto. Ten years ago,
almost every side event had to provide translation services--now--almost none do
so. Security has been tight at the conference, but apparently successful. Armed
guards packing AK47's around the perimeter of the conference was a constant
feature, though they seemed to be very pleasant. Taxi's have been ridiculously
cheap: about $1.00-1.50 for a ten-minute ride. One driver offered to take me
for $3.00 and I replied, "Äre you kidding me? Not a penny over $2.00!"
Well, I hope you've enjoyed these posts from Bali. I look forward to
opportunities to talk to you again in more detail about the many serious and
challenging issues of climate change.
Art Williams
Well, As Yogi Berra said it ain't over till it's over, and it's not yet over. After a
powerful speech by Gore to a couple of thousand of us (how I got a seat inside the
plenary while some delegates had to watch it on a TV outside the hall I have no
idea) the delegates pulled an all-nighter and allegedly went until 3AM last night.
Agreements have apparently been reached on key language relating to technology
transfer and some key initiatives to slow or halt deforestation.
But, the US, Russia, Japan and Canada (with the US in the lead) continue to hold
out on agreeing to language on targets and timetables. The rest of the world
wants some specific targets included in the text for the next period after the
last year of Kyoto, 2012, specifically 25-40% reduction by 2020. For the time
being (read: duration of the Bush administration) the US wants only general
qualitative language about reductions, without specifics to 2008 or later.
Apparently, during the wee morning hours, the US actually put a proposal on the
table--or tried to--that would have sought to set aside the Kyoto Protocol. A
stunned silence allegedly fell over the hall and then everyone moved on--in
disbelief. Maybe it was a payback poke in the eye to Gore's powerful speech
earlier, in which he eviscerated the Bush administration every which way but
loose--well--come to think of it he did that too. So, all in a night's fun--right?
It's too soon to say what the end game will be here on this key issue. Word in the
conference hallways is that the delegates are now assuming they'll be working
through tomorrow--though noon today is technically the deadline. While I stayed
for the entirety of the final 24 hour marathon session to 4am in Kyoto in
1997--I'm not likely to do so this year. Besides, I haven't seen much of Bali
beyond the conference center and I hope to go gaze into one of the island's active
volcanoes before sunset tonight.
I attended the side event hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce.
Two points: Sectoral agreements are making a strong move to be included as
formal mechanisms in the post-2012 framework. These are agreements by major
emitters in key sectors--steel, cement and automotive--where they set their own
targets that would operate within the framework of the international framework.
The world's apparent best thinker on this stuff, Richard Baron, sees this as
unworkable within the UNFCCC framework. Too much leakage and gaming. Keep an
eye on this one--it may have legs.
Another interesting point made by a key thought leader on carbon capture and
storage is that it really can't move forward as a mechanism until the role of
government (I presume at a national level in general) is clarified. In short, no
private sector entity will last long enough to ensure the integrity of storage
fields, so it must fall to government for long-term monitoring and storage
responsibilities. Many contend that something along the lines of the system that
has emerged for the long-term storage of nuclear waste is needed. It's an area
where I've heard basically no discussion in the states--it's just been about the
techincal feasibility. Stay tuned on that one as well.
In a side event on mobile source issues I found the most interesting part of the
discussion to be the pressing questions asked by a representative of Google
to the vehicle manufacturers. As we've heard a few weeks ago, Google is planning
a substantial move into clean energy R&D. It's presence here would seem to
confirm those efforts.
The Climate Registry (TCR) held a side event in the late afternoon and perhaps
the most intriguing part of the discussion focused on the possibility of TCR
eventually morphing into THE global mechanism for a registry--and beyond (an
international trading system). Apparently, Australia (which attended the event)
has expressed some interest in TCR and it's generally recognized that there's an
increasing likelihood that we're close in time (2-3 years) to having the EU and US
initiatives link up. Exciting stuff. Diane Wittenberg, the new President of TCR
who moderated this side event, graciously recognized our (NACAA) presence in
Bali and noted my participation and role in the steering committee in the
formation of TCR.
As I mentioned at the start if this post, I was honored to be able to attend the
Gore presentation. I assume it will soon be on youtube.com or elsewhere online
and I commend it to you. It was a very powerful statement. He was clearly a
little jet-lagged, having just come from Oslo where he received the Nobel Peace
Prize the day before. His talk was liberally laced with science, literature,
religion, humor and politics. It was informative and motivational. It was political
and pragmatic. It was very well-received--interrupted numerous times by raucus
applause.
Gore cited the African Proverb: If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want
to go far, you must go together.
Noting that humanity is embarked on a journey where we have never been
before--both in the scope of the problem and the challenge of solving it he cited
the "Pathwalker" as having said, "There is no path, you must make the path as you
go." And, in his closing, Gore asserted that future generations will ask of ours one
of two questions. Either, our generation having failed to take action, "What were
you thinking?" or our generation having risen to the occasion and taken action,
"How did you find the moral courage to address the crisis?"
In his final remark he asked the group to note and remember that political will is a
renewable resource.
The final head count at the conference comes in at 10,828 registered
participants. I've made some new friends here along the way--especially some
folks from Suwon, South Korea. English has clearly become the dominant language
of the globe--much much more so than even a decade ago in Kyoto. Ten years ago,
almost every side event had to provide translation services--now--almost none do
so. Security has been tight at the conference, but apparently successful. Armed
guards packing AK47's around the perimeter of the conference was a constant
feature, though they seemed to be very pleasant. Taxi's have been ridiculously
cheap: about $1.00-1.50 for a ten-minute ride. One driver offered to take me
for $3.00 and I replied, "Äre you kidding me? Not a penny over $2.00!"
Well, I hope you've enjoyed these posts from Bali. I look forward to
opportunities to talk to you again in more detail about the many serious and
challenging issues of climate change.
Art Williams
| Keep Louisville Cool! |
This page was most
recently updated on
15 Dec 07.
recently updated on
15 Dec 07.