2007

UN Climate talks - special update
1 December 2007

Tony Juniper

Friends of the Earth's Director - Tony Juniper - is at the climate talks in Bali and has sent us this report on how things are going.

1pm GMT - 9pm local time

The negotiations have been really complicated, I can't remember one like this (although Kyoto was just as tricky).

It's down to the wire now. The last bits of the deal are being thrashed out by ministers behind closed doors.

Predictably the main things left to resolve are whether or not there will be any mention of targets for cutting carbon dioxide (we're looking for a reduction of 40% by 2020).

Friends of the Earth has been pressing delegates from the European Union to remain firm on this. And we've also been exposing what the US has been doing to wreck the talks.

The US are behaving like first-class passengers on a jumbo jet who believe an emergency in economy class does not affect them. But if we go down, we go down together and the US needs to realise that very quickly.

Tony Juniper, Director, Friends of the Earth

I'm now sitting outside the room where the ministers are gathered. There are loads of TV crews waiting for any snippet of information.

It's high drama with a lot at stake.

If we get a deal from here that has the numbers in it, then we have potentially the makings of a political deal that can avoid dangerous climate change.

It's an amazing juxtaposition of politics and ecology - that's the place where Friends of the Earth does its work.

One thing that's been really encouraging is the recognition that climate change is a justice issue.

Walhi March
Friends of the Earth Indonesia (Walhi) were among
a wide range of social justice groups represented.

It's the global poor who will be hit hardest and we need solutions that will help poorer nations adapt and build low carbon economies.

Could be a long night so I'll sign off now and of course news will be out in due course as to what happened.

We'll battle on until the end.

The latest information we have is that an announcement may be made around 7pm GMT (3am local time).

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