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Bali talks reach "critical" stage

17 December 2007

UN climate change talks have entered their last day in Bali, with an agreement seemingly threatened by a deep cross-Atlantic divide.

The US and Canada, together with Japan, are opposing EU-led calls for a fixed 2020 greenhouse gas emission reduction target.

They argue that such a goal would prejudge the outcome of future talks, but the EU continues to demand cuts of between 25 and 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.

A compromise deal brokered by host nation Indonesia would see a concrete longer-term goal for 2050 agreed to but offers only voluntary targets for the 2020 date.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has extended his stay in Bali as the talks failed to reach agreement before Friday. His spokesperson described the negotiating situation as "critical".

The conference is seeking to set an agenda for negotiations on how to replace the Kyoto protocols on emissions, which expire in 2012. It is hoped such negotiations will conclude by 2009.

Former US presidential candidate Al Gore, who won the 2007 Nobel peace prize for his work in bringing climate change up the global agenda, criticised his own country for their obstructive stance after arriving in Bali yesterday.

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