In the face of unprecedented and open criticism on the floor of
the UN, the US was forced to back down from causing complete
collapse of the meeting.
Nevertheless, the Bush Administration's underhand tactics have
left the Bali Mandate omitting any reference to the crucial cuts
required to stop climate change and relegated the science to a
footnote.
"The Bush Administration has unscrupulously taken a monkey
wrench to the level of action on climate change that the science
demands," said Gerd Leipold, Executive Director of Greenpeace
International. "They've relegated the science to a footnote."
In a year when the Nobel prize-winning IPCC clearly laid out the
unacceptable impacts of unchecked climate change, this week also
saw the news that the Arctic could see ice-free summers within five
to six years, and scientists said 2007 was the seventh hottest year
in history.
Greenpeace remains confident that mounting public pressure on
every continent will force governments over the next two years to
agree the inevitable deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions science
demands. Germany has already set the example by announcing it would
cut its own emissions by 40% by 2020.
"Governments must continue to stand up to this lame-duck US
President with his malicious agenda. Industrialised nations must
now immediately set ambitious targets to cut emissions, forging
ahead on a national and international level, confident that soon a
new US Administration will be in place."
"The Bush Administration was humbled and shamed by the firm
resolve of the developing countries China, India, Brazil, South
Africa - who came to Bali with concrete proposals to play their
fair share in global efforts to prevent dangerous climate
change.
What they got was a dirty strategy by Bush to challenge all the
issues most important to the millions who are already suffering
from the impacts of climate change," said Ailun Yang of Greenpeace
China.
The final agreement includes a mandate to negotiate a
strengthened second phase of the Kyoto Protocol by 2009, start a
process to finance and deliver clean technologies to developing
countries, and a fund to help the victims of climate change.
For the first time, the UNFCCC will address the outstanding
problem of the of 20% the world's global emissions from
deforestation.
Greenpeace welcomed the first steps towards achieving reductions
in deforestation emissions, which will protect both the climate and
forests. However, forest loss is dramatic - every two seconds an
area of forest the size of a football pitch is being destroyed.
Governments could have done a lot more to reflect this urgency.
There is still much to be done before deforestation is effectively
addressed.
This meeting advanced the issues of helping people to adapt to
the impacts of climate change, and support in moving to clean
technologies more than anyone expected. As a result, money will
finally start to flow to the most vulnerable.
However, the money agreed at Bali is peanuts compared to
adaptation needs and the trillions required for a true energy
revolution are nowhere to be seen. Developed countries came with
nothing substantial to offer on these issues. This has to change if
we want to stop even more suffering and a polluting energy
development path.
VVPR info: For Greenpeace interviews contact: Cindy Baxter, +62 81 33 794 9713 Martin Baker, +62 81 33 794 9714 Jo Kuper, +62 81 33 794 9715