australia: all articles

With Bali's biggest decision now made, the media pack has rushed off to file stories, source reaction, or get drunk on the beach. But the action here in plenary is not quite done.

In a meeting under the ‘Kyoto track', countries have just signed up to the kind of ambitious goals that were washed out of the main Bali declaration.

This decision affects all countries that have ratified Kyoto (most of the world other than the USA).  This includes Australia. For the first time, it expressed "strong support" for a goal of reducing rich country emissions by 25-40% by 2020, from a 1990 baseline.

As I suggested yesterday, NGOs have reacted positively to the draft agreement on future commitments. But there's a good chance that their mood will darken as the week goes on.

They'd have preferred mention of 2 degrees in the text and stronger language on legally binding targets. They are also keen to see a clear plan for how the negotiations will be conducted.

But my guess is that, as the week goes on, the text is more likely to be diluted than strengthened.

Australia's position has been all over the place here in Bali. On day 1, it was showered with praise for ratifying Kyoto (a politically costless task as it is already on track to meet its target).

Since then, it has flip flopped over targets for industrialized countries. Today, its trade minister has further fanned the flames of discontent.

"Australia's task is at the appropriate time to commit to targets but it's also to try and secure binding commitments from developing countries," Simon Crean is reported as saying by ABC News.

This morning, I escaped from the ‘bubble' for a while (more on that later), so I only arrived in the convention centre around midday.

Delegates were not so lucky. In the first week of a negotiation like this one, the formal talks splinter into a dizzying array of smaller groups. Each is set up to focus on a contentious area where a decision is needed. Later on, if a miracle occurs, the output from each group is pieced together. Even more rarely, something coherent emerges.

If you think your government reps are enjoying a holiday at taxpayers' expense, you're mostly wrong. Some of the hotels in the main complex are very swanky, to be sure. But delegates mostly work and sleep. If things hot up next week, which they probably will, sleep too is dispensed with.

Today, within minutes of taking office, Kevin Rudd - new Australian PM - ratified Kyoto.

His timing was perfect. Official business had just begun here in Bali and the way was cleared for Howard Bamsey, Australia's lead negotiator, to ring the glad tidings in the opening plenary. Delegates were ecstatic. It was, said Yvo de Boer, the UN's top official on climate, 'an emotional and spontaneous reaction.'