Important results in Bali

The outcome of the 13th climate summit in Bali (COP13) made headline news all over the world. Although initially the conference proceeded according to plan, it required a dramatic final to reach consensus on an ‘Action Plan’ towards a new climate treaty. The deadline for a successor to Kyoto has been set for 2009, when the Copenhagen COP will be held. Although the contents of the ‘Copenhagen Protocol' remain unclear, COP13 was in many ways an unusually productive climate conference.

Despite the uncertainty over what exactly is to be decided, the fact that in 2009 there will be an agreement on addressing climate change is a huge achievement. The Bali Action Plan states that a "shared vision for long-term cooperative action, including a long-term global goal for emission reductions" will be addressed in the agreed outcome of Copenhagen. Apart from a reference to the most recent IPCC report, the Action Plan does not reveal any further intentions on what that global goal may be.

There is also uncertainty on a number of other areas, in which further research as carried out by research institutes such as ECN is essential. These areas are mitigation, adaptation, technology, and finance and investment. For the first time, the Action Plan mentions goals for developing countries, carefully formulated “in the context of sustainable development”, “supported by technology” and “enabled by financing and capacity-building”.

ECN and the Bali outcome
ECN has made contributions to many of the areas named in the Action Plan, including to international technology agreements in general, and technology transfer and diffusion in particular.

Technology cooperation is increasingly important but is currently in need of better background information and more study. ECN Policy Studies has much experience in the financial and policy aspects of mitigation options, carried out for example for the Dutch government and the European Commission.

More than the Action Plan
Much of the media attention for Bali focussed on the important decision concerning the Action Plan, neglecting that in other areas progress was made. For example, after years of deliberation it was decided how the Adaptation Fund for developing countries should be structured. Progress has also been made in the area of technology transfer to developing countries. The deforestation issue was discussed in depth, and initial steps have been taken to do something about it. The discussion concerning the inclusion of CO2 capture and storage in the Clean Development Mechanism was taken a step further. In many ways, therefore, it was an unusually productive conference.

The results achieved at COP13 on Bali are an important step for the global community. Many of ECN’s fields of activity have been identified as important negotiation points on the road from Bali to Copenhagen. ECN is ready to help the process along!

Contact:
Heleen de Coninck
ECN Policy Studies
Tel. +31 0224 - 564316
deconinck@ecn.nl