Bali Road Map — LLMpedia

Bali Road Map
Name	Bali Road Map
Date signed	2007-12
Location signed	United Nations Climate Change Conference, Bali, Indonesia
Parties	United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Language	English language

Contents

Bali Road Map

The Bali Road Map was an outcome of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations at the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, that set a two-year process leading toward a global agreement on climate change mitigation and adaptation. It linked the work of the Conference of the Parties to processes involving the Ad Hoc Working Group and the AWG-LCA, framing timelines for United States engagement, European Union negotiations, and actions by major emitters such as China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. The Road Map influenced subsequent instruments including discussions that prefaced the Copenhagen Accord and ultimately the Paris Agreement.

Background

Negotiators at the 2007 Bali Conference drew upon precedents such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Marrakesh Accords to design a roadmap responsive to pressures from the IPCC assessments and civil society groups like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. Delegations included representatives from United States, Japan, Canada, Russia, Australia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and members of the Alliance of Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries Group. High-profile figures such as Anil Agarwal, Yvo de Boer, and heads of state and government ministers from the G8 and G20 influenced the political framing. The Road Map responded to scientific reports by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report and mounting public campaigns organized by actors including 350.org and Sierra Club.

The Bali Road Map established timelines for negotiating emission reduction commitments and cooperative measures among Annex I and non-Annex I Parties, intending to address mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer, and finance. It tasked the Annex I working group and the AWG-LCA with delivering comprehensive proposals leading into 2009 and an agreed outcome by 2009. It called for enhanced action on adaptation for vulnerable states such as those in the Pacific Islands Forum and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and mechanisms for clean development mechanism reform, technology transfer via institutions like the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility, and finance mechanisms reflecting discussions at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Negotiations were mediated through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat, chaired by figures including Yvo de Boer and supported by contact groups comprising Parties such as European Commission negotiators and envoys from Norway, New Zealand, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and the United States. The process used timelines, workstreams, and agendas influenced by prior meetings in Bonn and Accra, and drew on submissions from regional blocs including the African Group and the ASEAN. Parallel fora such as the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and meetings of the G8 and G20 shaped political space for compromise. Civil society observers, indigenous delegations, and business groups like the International Chamber of Commerce participated in side events that swayed negotiating positions.

Implementation measures outlined included formulation of nationally appropriate mitigation actions for developing countries, frameworks for adaptation planning such as national adaptation programmes of action used by Least Developed Countries Group, and finance pledges channeled through mechanisms like the Global Environment Facility and proposals for a new fund discussed by Brazil and South Africa. The Road Map encouraged pilot programs for carbon market linkages referencing the European Union Emission Trading Scheme and the Clean Development Mechanism, and promoted technology cooperation involving institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. Monitoring, reporting, and verification provisions built on practices from the Kyoto Protocol compliance mechanism and inventory guidelines by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

State Parties, including United States, European Union, China, India, Brazil, Russia, and Japan, carried primary responsibilities for commitments and implementation timelines. Intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank were positioned to provide technical assistance, while regional organizations such as the African Union and the Pacific Islands Forum advocated for vulnerable constituencies. Non-state actors—World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, business coalitions like the International Emissions Trading Association, and philanthropic entities such as the Rockefeller Foundation—acted on finance, advocacy, and knowledge transfer. Scientific inputs came from the IPCC and research centers such as the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the Potsdam Institute.

The Bali Road Map achieved a procedural consensus that set the timetable for the 2009 negotiations and catalyzed national policy developments including legislative efforts in United States states and European Union member states, expanded Renewable energy initiatives in China and India, and intensified finance discussions in international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Evaluations by think tanks such as the International Institute for Environment and Development and policy analyses by the Brookings Institution and Chatham House noted that while it created momentum, divergent positions among Annex I and non-Annex I Parties limited immediate binding outcomes. Subsequent agreements, including elements of the Copenhagen Accord and lessons integrated into the Paris Agreement, reflected procedural features initiated in Bali.

Critics from NGOs including Friends of the Earth and policy analysts at Center for International Environmental Law argued the Road Map lacked enforceable binding targets and allowed major emitters such as United States and China latitude in pledging actions. Negotiators from the Alliance of Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries Group contended that finance and adaptation provisions were insufficient relative to anticipated losses catalogued by the IPCC. Some commentators linked the Road Map’s process to delays that culminated in the contested outcomes of the 2009 Copenhagen Conference, and debates persisted over the role of market mechanisms versus regulatory approaches promoted by entities such as the European Commission and OECD.