Welcome to the Island of Gods.

Best quotes this morning:

“I hope the Bali warm weather will help this conference bring a fruitful outcome."
-Bali Governor welcoming delegates to Island of Gods

"Bali is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, but it is in danger of becoming a lost paradise. The outcome of this conference will determine whether Bali and other Island countries become lost paradises."
-Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC Chief

The formal plenary launch of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change talks kicked off this morning. I stumbled upon the Canada delegation when I came in the main hall. They were among the minority that were wearing shirt and ties, but as the Cameroon delegation didn’t have anybody sitting beside them, they had extra room to air out. David McGovern from the delegation told me that Canada would be sending officials instead of Ministers to the Trade and Finance ministers’ meetings taking place in Bali December 8-11. He said a forty-hour return flight was a long way to come for a day and half meeting. When I told him I was surprised that US Trade Representative Susan Schwab was attending, he said, “We were too.”

The incoming President of the Conference, Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar notified the delegates that Indonesia would be issuing a special commemorative stamp to mark the conference. He called on delegates to “operationalize the adaptation fund,” meaning that rich need to pump some cash into it. He also called for combating deforestation to form a central element of the future climate agreement. He noted that the major stumbling block to take action on climate change was the perception that it would create economic hardship. While the costs are substantial, he said, they are affordable, and the costs of doing nothing will be far more severe than we can afford.

Yvo de Boer followed up noting what an incredible year 2007 has been for the acceptance of climate change as a major threat:

* EU has adopted GHG reduction targets of 20-30 per cent by 2020
* China and other developing countries have adapted national climate change plans
* The US initiated meetings to reach agreement by the end of 2008 on how the UNFCCC can proceed post-2012
* The UN fourth assessment report galvanized attention at the urgency of the problem and won the Nobel Prize
* 80 heads of state gathered for high level meeting this September by the Un Secretary General called for a breakthrough in Bali.

Yvo also emphasized that nobody can hide from climate change, all will be affected, and the poorest of the poor will be affected the most.

He made what seemed to me to be a slightly contradictory entreaty to respect “common but differentiated responsibility,” while requiring obligation from all. Most of the developing world understands “common but differentiated responsibility” to mean that they don’t have to take on any of the heavy lifting for climate change.

Yvo also said that the challenge of combating climate change was daunting, and would require “squaring the circle of conflicting interests,” which he said could be done by attending to four corners of climate policy:

1. Action requires a new low-carbon energy future underpinning economic growth.
2. Bold action in the North can fuel clean growth in the South.
3. Fossil fuels are here to stay we figure out ways to use them more cleanly, or we will be cutting our noses to spite our face.
4. Adaptation is a reality for all countries but unlike Yvo’s home country of the Netherlands which can afford to pay the adaptation bill, many countries cannot and will require financial assistance.

In closing, Yvo explained the meetings emphasis on tools rather than outcomes as akin to marriage, which is the culmination of much courting not the topic of discussion on the first date. Most people laughed (the only time during the opening plenary) but I thought we were further along (as in at least second base) than the first date.