Bali climate deal paves way for hotter U.S. debate
Washington, December 16, 2007 - A breakthrough deal forged by delegates from 190 countries has revived world efforts to fight global warming and may help push the debate to the front and center of the U.S. political debate.
The US has said the climate change negotiating process it agreed to in Bali must ensure developing states take their fair share of emission cuts.
www.reuters.com: Bali climate deal paves way for hotter U.S. debate
news.bbc.co.uk: US sets terms for climate talks
www.physorg.com: US Wary of Global Warming Framework

After praise for Bali climate deal: the hard part
London, December 16, 2007 - After all the praise for the agreement to work out a climate treaty involving all nations by late 2009, governments now have to work out the details.
www.alertnet.org: After praise for Bali climate deal: the hard part

Bali deal leaves greens in despair
London, December 16, 2007 - AS more than 180 countries agreed a deal on climate change at the UN summit in Bali, environmentalists punctured the mood of self-congratulation by pointing to the failure to agree firm targets for reducing emissions.
www.timesonline.co.uk: Bali deal leaves greens in despair

Bali Conference: World unity forces US to back climate deal
London, December 16, 2007 - After high tension, fury and tears, the Bush administration finally gives its support to a new framework to tackle global warming.
www.independent.co.uk: World unity forces US to back climate deal

Agreeing upon a timetable

Nusa Dua, December 15, 2007 - After a fortnight of often tortuous negotiations, and an additional day at the end, 190-odd countries have decided that a global agreement involving all countries is needed to tackle climate change. The “Bali roadmap”, named after the Indonesian island where the deal was struck, is a milestone of sorts.
Rich, middle-income and poor countries have acknowledged both the threat of a changing climate and the need for urgent action by all. Substantive negotiations will start within weeks to produce an international convention by the end of 2009 on exactly how countries will meet their “common but differentiated responsibilities” to fight climate change.
www.economist.com: Agreeing upon a timetable

Climate Change Deal Reached after US U-Turn
Nusa Dua / Bali, (Indonesia), December 15, 2007 - There were tears, boos and, at the end, even hugs: After a long struggle, the delegates at the UN climate conference on Bali finally managed to agree on a roadmap for fighting climate change. Despite the lack of concrete targets, most considered the deal a success.
www.spiegel.de: Happy ending on Bali

Bali climate talks back from the brink, but substance missing
Nusa Dua, Bali, (Indonesia), December 15, 2007 - US told to lead, follow or get out of the way during meeting sessions: The worm turned here in Bali today as the conference booed and jeered US attempts to block a successful outcome.
www.greenpeace.org: Bali climate talks back from the brink, but substance missing

Letter from Bali: A tragic truth

Nusa Dua / Bali, (Indonesia), December 15, 2007 - Professor Andrew Light laments the unnecessary line in the sand the U.S. has drawn in Bali.
gristmill.grist.org: Letter from Bali: A tragic truth

EU and US at loggerheads over climate change
Nusa Dua, Bali, (Indonesia), December 14, 2007 - The EU and US have clashed at an international meeting in Bali to discuss ways to tackle climate change, with Europe threatening to boycott a key environment meeting next year if Washington does not show greater committment to cutting greenhouse gases.
euobserver.com: EU and US at loggerheads over climate change

EU-U.S. climate impasse easing
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 14, 2007 - Europe toned down a clash with the United States over 2020 climate goals on the final day of U.N. talks in Bali on Friday, raising hopes of a deal to start negotiations on a new global warming treaty.
www.reuters.com: EU-U.S. climate impasse easing
www.guardian.co.uk: Climate talks edge towards deal
www.washingtonpost.com: Progress Seen at Climate Talks

Rainforest protection plan takes shape
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 14, 2007 - Governments at the United Nations meeting on climate change agreed in principle Friday to a system that would compensate developing countries for protecting their rain forests, a deal that officials described as a nascent but innovative effort to mitigate deforestation and global warming.
www.iht: 2007: Rainforest protection plan takes shape

REDD alert in Bali over deforestation
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 14, 2007 - The UN Bali conference could turn out to be the biggest climate cop-out ever, unless measures on deforestation are included in the roadmap: How can it be that 15,000 delegates can gather in Bali to produce the answer to climate change and be in danger of missing the point?
At least 3,000 of them should be concentrating on burning trees, which the IPCC reckons is responsible for 20 per cent of global CO2 emissions - from deforestation in the tropics that is.
www.telegraph.co.uk: REDD alert in Bali over deforestation

Anger at US Bali proposals 'two weeks too late'
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 14, 2007 - Attempts to reach a new climate change agreement began again today after a rocky night with the United States and Europe still some distance apart, according to officials.
In the early hours of Friday morning, after nearly two weeks' of talks, the United States caused astonishment by producing a new proposal which appeared to lay out an agenda for voluntary - not legally binding - emissions reductions that appeared to go back more than a decade.
www.telegraph.co.uk: Anger at US Bali proposals 'two weeks too late'

Al Gore: The world can't wait for George Bush
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 14, 2007 - Bali climate change summit hears a passionate appeal for action by the Nobel Prize-winner. www.independent.co.uk: Edited extract speech Al Gore

'Bush Is Playing a Double Game'
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 14, 2007 - Tensions have been high at the UN climate conference on Bali as the European Union and United States faced off over emissions cuts. German commentators assess the roles of Germany and the US at opposite ends of the climate divide.
www.spiegel.com: Bush Is Playing a Double Game

EU and U.S. trade charges of blocking Bali talks
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 13, 2007 - The European Union and the United States accused each other on Thursday of blocking a deal to launch negotiations on a new global warming treaty as the clock ran down on U.N. climate talks in Bali.
"If we would have a failure in Bali it would be meaningless to have a major economies' meeting" in the United States, Humberto Rosa, Portugal's Secretary of State for Environment, said on the penultimate day of the two-week talks.
www.reuters.com: EU and U.S. trade charges of blocking Bali talks
news.bbc.co.uk: EU 'snub' threat at climate talks

We may not get carbon deal, warns (UK's) Benn
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 13, 2007 - A stand-off between the United States and Europe over carbon reduction targets should not overshadow the "significant" progress made on a new climate deal, Hilary Benn said yesterday. The environment secretary said the so-called Bali roadmap, which negotiators hope to produce tomorrow as the first step towards a new treaty, did not need a fixed target to be considered a success. He said: "Of course there are people who hoped it would all be sorted out this week. But the roadmap will give us the means to get where we want to go, and we haven't had that previously, and that's a significant step."
www.guardian.co.uk: We may not get carbon deal, warns (UK's) Benn
www.independent.co.uk: US wary of setting 'hard numbers' on greenhouse gas emissions at Bali talks

The American Gap between Words and Deeds
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 13, 2007 - It sounds good -- at first. The US says it wants to be part of a climate treaty and looks forward to a new chapter in climate policy. But a closer look reveals that Washington continues to torpedo any concrete agreement.
www.spiegel.com: The American Gap between Words and Deeds

All eyes on Gore for push on climate deal
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 13, 2007 - Newly minted Nobel laureate Al Gore was expected in Bali on Thursday, where delegates at key talks on climate change are desperately seeking a breakthrough in negotiations."
www.terradaily.com: All eyes on Gore for push on climate deal

Saudi Says No Need to Cut Oil Use to Fight Warming
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 13, 2007 - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday the world does not need to shift away from fossil fuels to combat global warming, suggesting pilot technology and greater efficiency as better options.
www.planetark.com: Saudi Says No Need to Cut Oil Use to Fight Warming

India Urges Rich to Take Lead in Climate Fight
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 13, 2007 - India urged rich countries on Wednesday to take the lead in cutting greenhouse gases, saying it cannot accept binding targets in any UN deal on combating climate change because of its economic needs.
www.planetark.com: India Urges Rich to Take Lead in Climate Fight

U.N.'s Ban urges 2009 deadline for climate deal
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 12, 2007 - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world on Wednesday to agree a sweeping treaty to fight climate change by 2009, telling U.N.-led talks in Bali to act now on "the moral challenge of our generation".
www.reuters.com: U.N.'s Ban urges 2009 deadline for climate deal
www.telegraph.co.uk: Rich nation's CO2 cuts may be 'too ambitious'

Tackling climate change - Bali summit
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 12, 2007 - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has opened high-level talks at the climate change conference in Bali with a call to action.
news.bbc.co.uk: Tackling climate change - Bali summit

Bali conference close to deal on saving forests
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 12, 2007 - A breakthrough on deforestation is set to be the first success of the UN climate talks in Bali. Diplomats are confident that the "road map" to a new climate-change treaty would contain a crucial reference to forests.
www.independent.co.uk: Bali conference close to deal on saving forests

Put biodiversity at centre of climate debate, says new experts survey
Nusa Dua (Bali), 10 December, 2007 – A fascinating picture has emerged from a unique survey of 1,000 climate decision-makers and influencers from across 105 countries conducted by GlobeScan, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Bank in the two weeks leading up to the Bali Climate Conference. www.iucn.org: Put biodiversity at centre of climate debate, says new experts survey

UN climate talks under pressure to drop 2020 goals
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, December 10, 2007 - The United States has urged a tough 2020 target for rich nations to axe greenhouse gas emissions to be dropped from a draft text at climate change talks in Bali, delegates said on Monday.
www.alertnet.org: UN climate talks under pressure to drop 2020 goals

All nations must join climate fight: Bali draft
Nusa Dua (Bali), December 8, 2007 - All nations will have to do more to fight climate change, with deep greenhouse gas cuts by rich nations to avoid the worst impacts of a warmer world, a draft proposal at U.N. talks said on Saturday.
www.reuters.com: All nations must join climate fight: Bali draft

Emissions cap for poor unlikely at Bali talks
Nusa Dua (Bali), December 7, 2007 - The chance that developing countries would accept firm emissions-cutting targets receded on Friday, as U.N.-led talks to launch negotiations on a climate pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol inched forwards.
www.reuters.com: Emissions cap for poor unlikely at Bali talks

In Indonesia's shrinking forests, a glimmer of hope
Kuala Cenaku (Sumatra), December 6 / 7, 2007 - Here on the island of Sumatra, about 1,200 miles from the global climate talks under way on Bali, are some of the world's fastest-disappearing forests.
From here, to anybody looking out over a vast wasteland of charred stumps and dried-out peat, the fight to save Indonesia's forests can seem nearly impossible. But there is a glimmer of hope...
www.iht.com: In Indonesia's shrinking forests, a glimmer of hope
www.telegraph.co.uk: Bog barons: Indonesia's carbon catastrophe
www.telegraph.co.uk: Indonesia destroys forests as Bali looks for solution

More than half of Amazon will be lost by 2030, report warns

Nusa Dua (Bali), December 6, 2007 - Climate change could speed up the large-scale destruction of the Amazon rainforest and bring the "point of no return" much closer than previously thought, conservationists warned today.
A vicious cycle of climate change and deforestation could wipe out or severely damage nearly 60% of the Amazon forest by 2030, says WWF.
www.panda.org: Climate change speeds up Amazon’s destruction
www.guardian.co.uk: More than half of Amazon will be lost by 2030, report warns
www.guardian.co.uk: Picture Gallery

Bali Conference: Diplomats warned that climate change is security issue, not a green dilemma
Nusa Dua (Bali), December 6, 2007 - Foreign policy-makers are waking up to the impact of climate change on conflict zones worldwide, and will add their voice to those calling on governments at the UN conference in Bali to act urgently.
www.independent.co.uk: Diplomats warned that climate change is security issue, not a green dilemma

The Amazon may not help in the battle against rising temperatures
Kuala Cenaku (Sumatra), December 6, 2007 - Think of global warming and the usual set of apocalyptic images comes to mind, from glaciers crashing into the sea to Biblical deluges. But what does climate change sound like? "Usually when you walk through the rain forest you hear a squishy sound from all the moist leaves and organic debris on the forest floor," says ecologist Daniel Nepstad, a researcher at the Woods Hole Research Center and longtime scholar of the Amazon rain forest. "Now we increasingly get rustle and crunch. That's the sound of a dying forest."
www.newsweek.com: The Amazon may not help in the battle against rising temperatures

Saving rainforests a thorny issue at Bali talks
Bali, December 5, 2007 - Protecting tropical rainforests, which soak up vast amounts of greenhouse gases, is proving a real headache at U.N.-led climate talks in Bali, where delegates are trying to sort out a pay-and-preserve scheme.
www.reuters.com: Saving rainforests a thorny issue at Bali talks

"We would be fools to banish global business from the great climate battle"
Nusa Dua / Bali, December 5, 2007 - Capitalism alone won't save the planet, but it has a critical, innovative role to play. The alternative is to rely on a revolution.
Think about climate change long enough and you soon realise that it's more than our lightbulbs that we're going to have to change. Colleagues have already argued on these pages this week, as delegates gather in Bali to hammer out a global accord to avert this catastrophe, that a much more fundamental overhaul will be required, a war on carbon as fierce as the 1940s war on fascism. Madeleine Bunting suggested a return to wartime rationing, in order to curb a hyper-consumerism that is palpably unsustainable.
www.guardian.co.uk: "We would be fools to banish global business from the great climate battle"

US Seeks Alliance with China and India to Block Climate Protection
Bali, December 4 2007 - (By Ban Ki-moon) - Officially, the US government says it wants to push in Bali for a climate protection "road map." But Spiegel Online has learned that this may not be true. US government officials are already attempting to coordinate with China and India to prevent binding emissions limits.
www.spiegel.de: US Seeks Alliance with China and India to Block Climate Protection
See also www.reuters.com: Bali climate talks advance despite squabbling

Poor nations seek to "climate proof" economies -UN

Bali, Indonesia, December 4 - Developing nations from Sudan to Uruguay are finding new ways to "climate proof" their economies from threats ranging from desertification to storms, a U.N.-backed study said on Tuesday.
www.alertnet.org: Poor nations seek to "climate proof" economies -UN
news.bbc.co.uk: New crops needed to avoid famines

'Tropics expand' as world warms
Bali, Indonesia, December 4 - Climate change is causing the tropics to widen, with possible impacts on the global food supply, research suggests.
Scientists examined five different measures of the width of the tropical belt, and found it expanded by between 2 and 4.8 degrees latitude since 1979.
www.alertnet.org: 'Tropics expand' as world warms

The Era of Green Economics Is Dawning
Bali, December 4, 2007 - (By Ban Ki-moon) - Will the climate conference in Bali finally bring about a turning point in the battle against global warming? The world is already capable of making the spring to a new era of environmentally friendly business practices -- and it could spur growth rather than hinder it.
www.spiegel.de: The Era of Green Economics Is Dawning

What breakthrough would best advance the fight against climate change?
London / Bali, December 3, 2007 - As delegates gather in Indonesia to seek a new deal, leading thinkers nominate the big boost needed in the face of a rapidly warming planet.
www.guardian.co.uk: What breakthrough would best advance the fight against climate change?

From LiveEarth To Bali: A Year Of Climate Gatherings
Bali (Indonesia), December 3, 2007 - About 190 nations meet on the Indonesian island of Bali from Monday to build on a "fragile understanding" that the fight against global warming needs to be expanded to all nations with a deal in 2009.
www.planetark.com: From LiveEarth To Bali: A Year Of Climate Gatherings

Bali talks to seek global climate deal in 2009

Bali, (Indonesia), December 2 2007 - Delegates from about 190 nations gathered in Bali on Sunday to try to build on a "fragile understanding" that the fight against global warming needs to be expanded to all countries with a deal in 2009.
www.reuters.com: Bali talks to seek global climate deal in 2009
www.reuters.com: India to tell West to shoulder climate change burden

Rich countries urged to come clean on climate change
Brussels (UK), December 2 2007 - Rich countries must clean their own act to convince developing countries to join the fight against climate change, Nobel Peace Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri said on the eve of the international Bali conference.
www.reuters.com: Rich countries urged to come clean on climate change

Rich countries blamed as greenhouse gas emissions hit record
London (UK), December 2 2007 - Bali conference is the world's last chance to avoid 'catastrophic' global warming, experts warn. Rich countries are rapidly increasing the pollution that causes global warming to record levels – despite having solemnly undertaken to reduce it, three devastating new official reports reveal. Emissions of greenhouse gases and their accumulation in the atmosphere are higher than they have ever been, and unless policies are urgently reversed "catastrophic" climate change is inevitable, they warn.
environment.independent.co.uk: Rich countries blamed as greenhouse gas emissions hit record

Poverty Sucks, the Earth and the Soul
Wisconsin (USA), December 1 2007 - (Glen Barry) - To avoid run-away abrupt climate change, all nations must embrace equitable, ambitious and urgent emission cuts in Bali.
The rich are richer and the poor, poorer -- even as the Earth they share shrivels and dies. Billions live a life of misery on a dollar or two a day, as a sizeable minority enjoys creature comforts fit for kings of old, and a relative few with more wealth then entire nations live in unimagined splendor.
The Earth is alive and 3.5 billion years old. Humanity is one of her newer and apparently short-lived members. In losing our oneness with the Earth, we have embraced the dismantling of her life-support system as a means to feed, house and clothe ourselves. We live as if climate, forests, oceans and water have no value other than as resources to be destroyed for money.
earthmeanders.blogspot.com: Poverty Sucks, the Earth and the Soul

What's up with the climate conference in Bali?

Seattle, December 1 2007 - On Monday December 3, more than 15,000 people from 190 nations will descend on Bali, Indonesia -- not to bask in the sun, but to bargain and bicker at a big-deal climate-change meeting. The aim is to get rolling on a new global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The roadblocks are numerous. The stakes are high. And the beach looks a lot more alluring than the conference hall. Get the scoop with Grist on what's coming up in Bali.
grist.org: What's up with the climate conference in Bali?

Bali climate change conference: 'We Have Very Little Time to Act'
Berlin, November 30 2007 - With the Kyoto Protocol ending in 2012, negotiators are gathering in Bali, Indonesia on Monday to begin coming up with a new, and hopefully better, climate change agreement. Europe's wish list is long and ambitious.
A world with 30 percent fewer species. Huge water shortages caused by disappearing glaciers affecting hundreds of millions of people. Tropical rain forests dying out as ground water disappears. An accelerating overall rise in world temperatures. All this and more could be the world's fate in just a few short decades.
www.spiegel.de: 'We Have Very Little Time to Act'
www.spiegel.de: 'Frightening' UN Climate Report May Be Too Optimistic'

Bali: now the rich must pay
London, November 30 2007 - A fair and global effort to tackle climate change needs wealthy states to take the lead in CO2 cuts.
www.guardian.co.uk / Nicholas Stern: Bali: now the rich must pay

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