1.2 The Bali road map

The 13th Conference of the Parties (COP13) took place in Bali in December 2007 and culminated in the ‘Bali road map’, a 2-year negotiating process aiming to secure a binding deal at the 2009 UN summit in Denmark.

Some key elements of the Bali Road Map and other issues agreed in Bali can be summarised as follows:

Emissions cuts

  • Acknowledges that evidence for climatic warming is unequivocal and that delays in reducing emissions increase the risks of severe climate change impacts.

  • Recognises that deep cuts in global emissions will be required to avoid dangerous climate change, the ultimate objective of the UN climate convention.

  • Decides to look at a long-term global goal for emission reductions.

  • Developed nations to take on commitments that are ‘measurable, reportable and verifiable’, and ‘nationally appropriate’ and which may include quantified, binding targets for all or some.

  • For developing nations,‘measurable, reportable and verifiable’ actions with Western support in the context of sustainable development.

Adaptation

  • Enhanced cooperation to ‘support urgent implementation’ of measures to protect poorer countries against climate change impacts.

  • Acknowledges that economic diversification can ‘build resilience’.

  • Resolves to consider ways of reducing the occurrence or damage from natural disasters.

Technology transfer

  • Will consider how to remove obstacles to, and provide financial and other incentives for, ‘scaling up’ the transfer of clean energy technologies from industrialised nations to the developing world.

  • Decides to reinstate an expert group on technology transfer to advise developing countries.

Forests

  • Pledges to consider ‘policy approaches and positive incentives’ to reduce deforestation and conserve forest cover.

  • Funds pledged to the World Bank to initiate projects under the banner of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries.

1 National and international mitigation

1.3 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)