Bali Climate Conference

Bali Climate Conference
Name	Bali Climate Conference
Date	December 2007
Location	Bali, Bali, Indonesia
Venue	Bali International Convention Centre
Participants	Conference of the Parties, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, delegates from United States, European Union, China, India, Australia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, South Africa
Outcome	Bali Road Map, Bali Action Plan

Bali Climate Conference was a major international summit held in Bali in December 2007 that brought together negotiators from industrialized and developing nations to chart a post-2012 climate regime. The meeting produced the Bali Road Map and the Bali Action Plan, initiating intensive negotiations that culminated in later agreements such as the Copenhagen Accord and the Paris Agreement. It convened ministers, negotiators, scientists, and civil society actors under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Background and objectives

The conference followed previous sessions of the Conference of the Parties and built on outcomes from Kyoto Protocol discussions, the Montreal Protocol precedent, and findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. Major objectives included setting a timeline for post-2012 commitments, designing mechanisms for carbon market instruments like Clean Development Mechanism expansions, strengthening adaptation frameworks such as the Adaptation Fund, and addressing technology transfer via institutions akin to the Global Environment Facility. Key actors included states represented in negotiating blocs like the G77 and China, the Alliance of Small Island States, the Least Developed Countries Group, and regional entities including the African Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Negotiations and key outcomes

Negotiations produced the Bali Action Plan, which launched a two-year process toward a comprehensive agreement and established the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the UNFCCC umbrella. The package emphasized four pillars: mitigation by Annex I and non-Annex I parties, adaptation support for vulnerable states like those in the Caribbean Community and the Pacific Islands Forum, finance mechanisms referencing entities like the World Bank and proposals from the Green Climate Fund antecedents, and technology transfer frameworks drawing on models from the World Intellectual Property Organization. The agreement set deadlines that fed into subsequent meetings at Poznań Conference and the Copenhagen 2009.

Participants and stakeholders

Delegations included representatives from major emitters: United States negotiators led by the U.S. delegation counterparts met with envoys from China, India, Russia, and the European Commission. International organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Meteorological Organization were present alongside scientific bodies including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and research institutions like NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Non-state actors featured prominently: Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, corporate actors from ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and HSBC, and philanthropic entities such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Subnational and municipal networks including C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and indigenous organizations like the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change also engaged.

Impact and follow-up agreements

The Bali outcomes shaped the negotiating trajectory toward the Copenhagen Accord, influenced targets debated in the Cancún Agreements, and informed language in the eventual Paris Agreement. The Road Map accelerated workstreams on market mechanisms that later contributed to the development of regional schemes like the European Union Emissions Trading System and national programs in Australia and New Zealand. Financial pledges and architecture from Bali foreshadowed commitments in the Green Climate Fund and the operationalization of the Adaptation Fund. Scientific and policy linkages reinforced collaborations between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and national agencies such as Met Office and CSIRO.

Controversies and criticisms

Critics highlighted gaps between the Bali Action Plan language and demands from the Alliance of Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries Group for quantified emission cuts and firm financing. Environmental NGOs like 350.org and Friends of the Earth argued that outcomes fell short of the aggressive mitigation called for by Al Gore and James Hansen. Industry groups and the U.S. Senate domestic politics produced tensions exemplified by debates involving figures like John McCain and Barack Obama staffers. Concerns were raised over market-based approaches favored by corporations including BP and Shell, and equity disputes persisted between China and European Union negotiators over common but differentiated responsibilities interpretations. Transparency and effectiveness of financial intermediaries such as the World Bank were also contested.

Legacy and influence on international climate policy

The conference is credited with re-energizing multilateral diplomacy after the stagnation following the Kyoto Protocol adoption and set the procedural path for the sequence of COPs leading to the Paris Agreement. It catalyzed civil society mobilization linking movements like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace with scientific advocacy from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors and policy networks including the International Energy Agency. Institutional legacies include strengthened negotiating tracks within the UNFCCC, the conceptual groundwork for the Green Climate Fund, and greater prominence for adaptation in multilateral finance debates involving the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme. The Bali meeting remains a reference point in analyses by scholars at universities such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, Yale University, and think tanks like the World Resources Institute.

Category:United Nations climate change conferences