Bali Conference (2007)

Bali Conference (2007)
Name	Bali Conference (2007)
Date	December 3–15, 2007
Location	Bali, Indonesia
Venue	Bali International Convention Centre
Participants	Heads of state, environment ministers, negotiators, NGOs
Organizers	United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Preceded by	Conference of the Parties
Followed by	United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009

Bali Conference (2007)

The Bali Conference (2007) was the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Bali from December 3–15, 2007, convening representatives from United States, China, India, European Union, Japan, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, and many others. The meeting produced the Bali Road Map, aimed at launching a negotiation process toward a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement, and involved high-level figures such as George W. Bush-era envoys, Gordon Brown-era ministers, and negotiators linked to Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, and regional blocs including Association of Southeast Asian Nations, African Union, and Group of 77. The conference combined plenary sessions, ministerial roundtables, and side events featuring representatives of World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Commission, Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature, and indigenous groups.

Background

The Bali meeting followed negotiations at the Kyoto Protocol Marrakesh Accords and the 2006 COP sessions, set against scientific assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and policy pressure after incidents involving Hurricane Katrina, Cyclone Sidr, and droughts in Sahel. Diplomatic lead-up involved dialogues among Group of Eight, G8 Summit 2007, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change, and regional gatherings like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings. Key actors included representatives from United States Senate, European Parliament, Chinese Communist Party policy offices, and negotiators associated with Tony Blair, Manmohan Singh, Kevin Rudd, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, Vladimir Putin, Stephen Harper, and Julia Gillard-era advisors.

Objectives and Agenda

Plenary goals mirrored mandates from United Nations General Assembly resolutions and sought to produce a negotiating text for a post-2012 framework, addressing mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building. The Bali Road Map emphasized timeframes similar to Copenhagen Accord ambitions and referenced mechanisms like Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation, and proposals akin to Emissions Trading Scheme designs promoted by the European Commission and advocates linked to Stern Review. Topics on the agenda included adaptation funds, mitigation commitments for Annex I and non-Annex I parties, investment by institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, and technology cooperation with entities like Microsoft, Siemens, and General Electric participating in private-sector panels.

Participants and Attendance

Delegations represented virtually every UN member, including heads of state, ministers, lead negotiators, and experts from Brazilian Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forests (India), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Japan Ministry of the Environment, Australian Government Department of the Environment, and regional organizations such as Pacific Islands Forum and Caribbean Community. Observers included representatives from Greenpeace International, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, World Resources Institute, Conservation International, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Oxfam International, CARE International, Amnesty International, and indigenous organizations from Papua, Amazon Basin, and Arctic Council affiliates. Financial institutions and corporations attending included World Bank, Goldman Sachs, BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Toyota, Siemens, and IBM.

Key Negotiations and Agreements

Negotiators debated frameworks for legally binding commitments, monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), and the scale and governance of a new financing mechanism reflecting proposals from Brazilian Climate Policy Summit, G77 and China, and the Umbrella Group. The Bali Action Plan emerged, incorporating elements from negotiators influenced by the Stern Review, proposals from India and China on common but differentiated responsibilities, and offers of technology cooperation reminiscent of agreements brokered by United States envoys and European Union negotiators. Finance pledges invoked models from the Global Environment Facility and new funds proposed by Norway, Japan, and Germany while discussions on REDD took inspiration from work by UN-REDD and academic groups linked to James Hansen and Nicholas Stern.

Outcomes and Declarations

The conference culminated in the Bali Road Map and the Bali Action Plan, mandating two-year negotiations toward a post-2012 agreement to be concluded by 2009 at subsequent COP sessions; these documents referenced mitigation targets, adaptation strategies, technology transfer, and finance mechanisms. Leaders issued political statements involving figures such as Ban Ki-moon, Al Gore, Kevin Rudd, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, and Yukio Hatoyama-era advisors, while donor commitments included initiatives from Norway, Japan, and European Commission. The meeting also advanced REDD frameworks and launched collaborative technology partnerships resembling programs promoted by Global CCS Institute proponents and energy-efficiency campaigns associated with IEA analysts.

Reactions and Impact

Reactions were mixed: environmental NGOs like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth assessed outcomes as a limited success, while business groups represented by World Business Council for Sustainable Development hailed progress on market mechanisms. Political commentators compared the Bali outcomes to precedents such as the Kyoto Protocol and critiqued the slow pace relative to scientific warnings from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. Media outlets from The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, Al Jazeera, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and Xinhua covered negotiations intensively. Subsequent policy shifts included renewed engagement in the Major Economies Forum and legislative initiatives in United States Congress, European Parliament, and national assemblies in Australia, Canada, and China.

Legacy and Subsequent Developments

The Bali meeting set the diplomatic timetable that led into the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen, influenced the crafting of the Copenhagen Accord, and shaped later instruments culminating in the Paris Agreement and the expansion of carbon markets such as the European Union Emissions Trading System. Its emphasis on adaptation financing and technology transfer informed programs by Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, UN-REDD, and multilateral development banks including the Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. Scholarly assessments by authors linked to IPCC authors, Nicholas Stern, Johan Rockström, Michael E. Mann, and policy institutes such as Chatham House and Brookings Institution analyze Bali as a pivotal diplomatic milestone in the evolution of international climate governance.

Category:United Nations climate change conferences