Bali - Day 1
Greetings from Bali.
Bali is one of larger islands among the thousands that make up Indonesia. And from the little I have seen of it since I arrived yesterday evening, it is truly beautiful. It is one of the most popular tourist resorts in South East Asia and it is easy to understand why so many tourists flock here. Unfortunately I will have very little time on this trip to see much of the island. Having seen and heard the weather reports in Ireland in recent days, I know there will be little sympathy for me having to work for the duration of my stay on this tropical island paradise. However I am, along with counterparts from around the world, here in Bali for a very, very important reason.
Bali is playing host to a major UN conference on climate change, arguably one of the most important meetings on the subject to have ever taken place. I’m one of more than 200 ministers and prime ministers who will attend the conference over the next five days. And I am very glad, indeed honoured, to be representing Ireland at this conference.
The objective of the Bali conference is very important. What we are trying to achieve in Bali is to lay the foundations for a new international deal on climate change. We desperately need a new deal on climate change, to take over and augment the Kyoto Protocol. We need a deal if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. We need a deal which will first stabilise greenhouse gas emissions at their current level within the next decade, and which will lead to further reductions in the future. To do that, we first need an agreement that all of the major players, including Europe, America and the developing countries, are willing to negotiate towards such a deal in 2009.
It will, in my opinion, be a deal where developed nations such as those in the EU, Europe, Australasia and North America, have to commit to very significant cuts. We are, after all, the prime emitters. This would be an enormous step forward because, since the beginning of the millennium, many major players have been reluctant to be centrally involved in such a process which would involve international targets and binding agreements.
I am only here a day so far, and the formal ministerial negotiations have yet to take place, but I am very heartened by what I have heard about the last week of negotiations and discussions at official level. I am confident that by the end of negotiations this week, we will have an agreed roadmap. Negotiations among ministers do not begin until Wednesday so I have spent the last day meeting officials, climate change activists and professionals to discuss a wide range of issues surrounding climate change.
I had a very interesting meeting with the Vienna-based REEEP foundation. REEEP the (Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership) is an independent body which invests and assists developing countries in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. My department and Eamon Ryan’s department provide €500,000 a year to REEEP, which is ring fenced for seven developing countries in Africa. The money has been put into projects such as solar panel energy systems for homes in Uganda. Dr Marian Osterkorn told me Ireland was the third largest donor to REEEP. I also heard how REEEP coordinates on behalf of the British Foreign Office its carbon offsetting scheme for its air travel. REEEP invests the money to buy certified carbon credits which are classified as “gold standard” by the World Wildlife Fund in that they meet very high standards in terms of proven emission reductions and environmental sustainability.
It is this model of offsetting I am anxious to see implemented by the Irish Government.