japan: 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.

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.

Canada was given a good kicking at today’s Climate Action Network press conference, spicing things up after the desperately dull fare the NGOs served up yesterday.

They accused Canada of reneging on Kyoto, steering away from binding targets, and attempting to rile China and India into derailing progress.

Canada’s performance against its Kyoto targets is indeed lamentable. Its greenhouse gas emissions have risen 25% since 1990. Include land use and forestry, and the news gets worse: a 54% rise. Canada’s Kyoto target was to achieve a 6% cut.

At their press conference, the Japanese delegation were complaining that some countries hadn’t take a fair share of the burden under the Kyoto Protocol. I asked the obvious question – ‘which ones?’

The panel started giggling like naughty schoolboys and I fully expected them to refuse to respond. But not all. Admitting he might get himself into trouble, Counsellor Oe, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, proved quite happy to name names.