Bali Action Plan

Bali Action Plan Background

From 3 to 15 December 2007 the thirteenth conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP13) and the third Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP3) were convened in Bali, Indonesia to discuss, among others, the future of the international climate regime after 2012.

In addition, the twenty-seventh sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) as well as the resumed fourth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG) took place. The major meetings were accompanied by numerous side events.

Bali Action Plan - Post-2012 Road Map

COP13 and COP/MOP3 succeeded in establishing a framework for negotiations to create an agreement that would replace the Kyoto protocol as of 2012. The final agreement reached by the international community in Bali, labelled by COP president Witoelar in its closing statement as a “breakthrough”, at the end of the day it may not represent what the EU has been asking for, namely a precise and concrete commitment to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions of 25-40% by 2020, but still can be considered significant as it signs the return of the US in the negotiating process for the first time after the withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol track of March 2001.

Still open and controversial is the question of how the requests of a more than ever fragmented international community will be combined in the near future. The Bali Action Plan, adopted as a COP13 Decision was accompanied by a series of Decisions adopted by COP/MOP3 and established a two-track process (Convention and Kyoto Protocol) aiming at the identification of a post-2012 global climate regime to be adopted by COP15 and COP/MOP5 in Copenhagen in 2009.

The Convention track included the establishment of an Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action which will provide its conclusions on the “full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention” by COP15 in 2009. The Kyoto Protocol track signed the continuation of the work of the AWG which is required to provide recommendations to COP/MOP5 for adoption of new commitments for Annex I Parties.

The Bali Action Plan did not introduce binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but included the request for developed countries to contribute to the mitigation of global warming in the context of sustainable development. In addition, the Bali Action Plan envisaged enhanced actions on adaptation, technology development and on the provision financial resources, as well as measures against deforestation.

Post the Bali Conference (March 07) authors from the Wuppertal Institute (published in Climate Policy 8 (2008), pp. 91-95, www.earthscanjournals.com) analyse the results of the Conference. The analysis is here (pdf file).

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Bali Action Plan - Advance unedited version

Decision -/CP.13 Bali Action Plan

The Conference of the Parties,

Resolving to urgently enhance implementation of the Convention in order to achieve its ultimate objective in full accordance with its principles and commitments,

Reaffirming that economic and social development and poverty eradication are global priorities,

Responding to the findings of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and that delay in reducing emissions significantly constrains opportunities to achieve lower stabilization levels and increases the risk of more severe climate change impacts,

Recognizing that deep cuts in global emissions will be required to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention and emphasizing the urgency1 to address climate change as indicated in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,

1. Decides to launch a comprehensive process to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action, now, up to and beyond 2012, in order to reach an agreed outcome and adopt a decision at its fifteenth session, by addressing, inter alia:

(a) A shared vision for long-term cooperative action, including a long-term global goal for emission reductions, to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention, in accordance with the provisions and principles of the Convention, in particular the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and taking into account social and economic conditions and other relevant factors;

(b) Enhanced national/international action on mitigation of climate change, including, inter alia, consideration of:

(i) Measurable, reportable and verifiable nationally appropriate mitigation commitments or actions, including quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives, by all developed country Parties, while ensuring the comparability of efforts among them, taking into account differences in their national circumstances;

(ii) Nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiablemanner;

(iii) Policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries;

(iv) Cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions, in order toenhance implementation of Article 4, paragraph 1(c), of the Convention;

(v) Various approaches, including opportunities for using markets, to enhance the cost-effectiveness of, and to promote, mitigation actions, bearing in mind different circumstances of developed and developing countries;

(vi) Economic and social consequences of response measures;

(vii) Ways to strengthen the catalytic role of the Convention in encouraging multilateral bodies, the public and private sectors and civil society, building on synergies among activities and processes, as a means to support mitigation in a coherent and integrated manner;

(i) International cooperation to support urgent implementation of adaptation actions, including through vulnerability assessments, prioritization of actions, financial needs assessments, capacity-building and response strategies, integration of adaptation actions into sectoral and national planning, specific projects and programmes, means to incentivize the implementation of adaptation actions, and other ways to enable climate-resilient development and reduce vulnerability of all Parties, taking into account the urgent and immediate needs of developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, especially the least developed countries and small island developing States, and further taking into account the needs of countries in Africa affected by drought, desertification and floods;

(ii) Risk management and risk reduction strategies, including risk sharing andtransfer mechanisms such as insurance;

(iii) Disaster reduction strategies and means to address loss and damage associated with climate change impacts in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change;

(iv) Economic diversification to build resilience;

(v) Ways to strengthen the catalytic role of the Convention in encouraging multilateral bodies, the public and private sectors and civil society, building on synergies among activities and processes, as a means to support adaptation ina coherent and integrated manner;

(d) Enhanced action on technology development and transfer to support action on mitigation and adaptation, including, inter alia, consideration of:

(i) Effective mechanisms and enhanced means for the removal of obstacles to, and provision of financial and other incentives for, scaling up of the development and transfer of technology to developing country Parties in order to promote access to affordable environmentally sound technologies;

(ii) Ways to accelerate deployment, diffusion and transfer of affordable environmentally sound technologies;

(iii) Cooperation on research and development of current, new and innovative technology, including win-win solutions;

(iv) The effectiveness of mechanisms and tools for technology cooperation in specific sectors;

(e) Enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment to support action on mitigation and adaptation and technology cooperation, including, inter alia, consideration of:

(i) Improved access to adequate, predictable and sustainable financial resources and financial and technical support, and the provision of new and additional resources, including official and concessional funding for developing country Parties;

(ii) Positive incentives for developing country Parties for the enhanced implementation of national mitigation strategies and adaptation action;

(iii) Innovative means of funding to assist developing country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change in meeting the cost of adaptation;

(iv) Means to incentivize the implementation of adaptation actions on the basis of sustainable development policies;

(v) Mobilization of public- and private-sector funding and investment, including facilitation of carbon-friendly investment choices;

(vi) Financial and technical support for capacity-building in the assessment of the costs of adaptation in developing countries, in particular the most vulnerable ones, to aid in determining their financial needs;

2. Decides that the process shall be conducted under a subsidiary body under the Convention, hereby established and known as the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention, that shall complete its work in 2009 and present the outcome of its work to the Conference of the Parties for adoption at its fifteenth session;

3. Agrees that the process shall begin without delay, that the sessions of the group will be scheduled as often as is feasible and necessary to complete the work of the group, where possible in conjunction with sessions of other bodies established under the Convention, and that its sessions may be complemented by workshops and other activities, as required;

4. Decides that the first session of the group shall be held as soon as is feasible and not later than April 2008;

5. Decides that the Chair and Vice-Chair of the group, with one being from a Party included in Annex I to the Convention (Annex I Party) and the other being from a Party not included in Annex I to the Convention (non-Annex I Party), shall alternate annually between an Annex I Party and a non- Annex I Party;

6. Takes note of the proposed schedule of meetings contained in the annex;

7. Instructs the group to develop its work programme at its first session in a coherent and integrated manner;

8. Invites Parties to submit to the secretariat, by 22 February 2008, their views regarding the work programme, taking into account the elements referred to in paragraph 1 above, to be compiled by the secretariat for consideration by the group at its first meeting;

9. Requests the group to report to the Conference of the Parties at its fourteenth session on progress made;

10. Agrees to take stock of the progress made, at its fourteenth session, on the basis of the report by the group;

11. Agrees that the process shall be informed by, inter alia, the best available scientific information, experience in implementation of the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol, and processes thereunder, outputs from other relevant intergovernmental processes and insights from the business and research communities and civil society;

12. Notes that the organization of work of the group will require a significant amount of additional resources to provide for the participation of delegates from Parties eligible to be funded and to provide conference services and substantive support;

13. Strongly urges Parties in a position to do so, in order to facilitate the work of the group, to provide contributions to the Trust Fund for Participation in the UNFCCC Process and the Trust Fund for Supplementary Activities for the purposes referred to in paragraph 12 above and to provide other forms of in kind support such as hosting a session of the group.

Material for this page, Bali Action Plan, sourced from: EEL Newsservice Special Edition, 18 December 2007, United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, http://www.eel.nl/index.asp?c_nr=1&sub_categorie=268&ssc_nr=1179&anker=EEL

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