2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference

2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference convened in Bali, Indonesia from 3 to 15 December 2007 and brought together delegations from United States, China, India, European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and many other States to negotiate a post-Kyoto Protocol framework under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The meeting combined sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Kyoto Protocol, aiming to produce a negotiating mandate that would lead to legally binding commitments or political agreements addressing greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation, mitigation, and finance before the 2012 end of the first commitment period. Ministers, negotiators, scientists, business leaders and civil society from institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Bank, International Energy Agency and numerous non-governmental organizations participated.

Background and objectives

The conference followed the release of the Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize recognition shared by the IPCC and Al Gore, creating political momentum for an intensified multilateral response. Parties sought to define a Bali roadmap to guide negotiations on post-2012 commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, addressing contentious issues raised at earlier COP meetings in Marrakesh, Buenos Aires, The Hague (1998) and Buenos Aires (1998). Objectives included establishing workstreams on mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer, and climate finance, while reconciling positions from negotiating groups such as the Group of 77, Least Developed Countries, Umbrella Group, European Union and Alliance of Small Island States.

Participants and negotiations

Delegations included heads of state, environment ministers and lead negotiators from United States Department of State-led teams, Ministry of the Environment (Japan), Ministry of Environment and Forests (India), Ministry of the Environment and Forestry (Indonesia), European Commission representatives, and emissaries from China, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina, Chile, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland and others. Observers and stakeholders represented United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Health Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, International Renewable Energy Agency advocates, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Friends of the Earth, Conservation International, Oxfam International, Sierra Club, Business Council for Sustainable Energy, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, university delegations from Harvard University, University of Oxford, Stanford University and think tanks like the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and International Institute for Environment and Development provided expert input. Negotiations were structured through contact groups, plenary sessions, and ministerial consultations moderated by the COP Presidency of Indonesia and facilitated by UNFCCC officials.

Key outcomes and agreements

The conference produced the Bali Action Plan, a negotiating mandate instructing parties to implement a two-year process to elaborate a comprehensive post-2012 regime, encompassing mitigation by developed and developing countries, adaptation, technology development and transfer, and climate finance. The Bali roadmap created timetables for the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol. Political agreements on mechanisms such as carbon markets, clean development mechanism, and proposals for new instruments including reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation were advanced. The conference also prioritized funding modalities involving entities like the Global Environment Facility, proposed new finance channels akin to those later debated by the Green Climate Fund, and elevated the role of technology transfer consistent with discussions in WTO and World Intellectual Property Organization fora.

Responses and reactions

Reactions spanned praise from environmental organizations and scientific communities, including endorsements from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors and advocacy by figures such as Al Gore and former policymakers from United Kingdom and Germany, as well as criticism from business groups and political actors in United States and Australia who sought clearer commitments and flexibility on emissions targets. Developing country coalitions including the Group of 77 and China emphasized equity, historical responsibility, and common but differentiated responsibilities while industrialized Parties and the European Union pressed for legally binding targets and market mechanisms; commentators in outlets linked to The Guardian, The New York Times, and Financial Times assessed the Bali Action Plan as a diplomatic breakthrough yet short of immediate emission constraints. Civil society protests and demonstrations by groups such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace highlighted calls for ambitious targets and just transition principles.

Implementation and follow-up actions

Following the conference, the UNFCCC process advanced through the Cancún Agreements at later COP16 and negotiations culminating in the Paris Agreement at COP21, with interim work by bodies including the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice. National responses included policy measures in European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, legislative initiatives in United States states and Australia carbon policy debates, technology collaborations among Japan, South Korea, China and investment flows influenced by institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Scientific monitoring by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and operational mechanisms such as the Global Environment Facility and later the Green Climate Fund implemented finance and project pipelines, while parties continued to negotiate legal form, differentiation of commitments, and accounting rules leading into subsequent COP meetings.

Category:United Nations climate change conferences