The UN climate change Bali summit came to an end with the United States at the last minute giving in only ever so slightly on its ‘obstructionist’ stance that prevented the binding commitments that Europe had sought to materialize, effectively turning the event into a failure. Instead, the meeting ended with an ‘action plan’, which charts the course for a new negotiating process to be concluded by 2009 that will lead to a post-2012 international agreement on climate change. The roadmap includes the launch of the Adaptation Fund as well as decisions on technology transfer and on reducing emissions from deforestation.
“The targets sought by Europe and others remain in the action plan — including the need for rich countries to cut emissions by 2020 up to 40 percent below 1990 levels, and a 50 percent cut in emissions globally by 2050. But they are now a footnote to the nonbinding preamble, not a main feature of the plan”, wrote the New York Times yesterday.
