The American delegation to a United Nations conference on climate control tried Monday to defend its reluctance to commit to global policies on climate change, describing instead the ways it is countering global warming.
Faced with melting polar ice caps and worsening droughts, climate experts at a massive U.N. conference in Bali, Indonesia, urged quick action toward a new international pact that seeks to stem an increasingly destructive rise in world temperatures.
A key goal of the two-week conference, which opened with delegates from nearly 190 countries in attendance, will be to draw a skeptical United States into an agreement to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases.
While the U.S. delegation says it doesn't want to be an obstacle to a new agreement, Washington remains opposed to steps many other countries support, such as mandatory emissions cuts by rich nations and a target for limiting the rise in global temperatures.
"We're not here to be a roadblock," insisted Harlan L. Watson, the senior U.S. climate negotiator. "We're committed to a successful conclusion, and we're going to work very constructively to make that happen."
But the American position suffered a blow Monday when Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed papers to ratify the Kyoto Protocol climate pact. Delegates in Bali erupted in applause when Australia's delegate, Howard Bamsey, told the plenary that Canberra was jumping on board.
The move leaves the U.S. — the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases — as the sole industrial power which does not endorse the Kyoto Protocol.
Scientists say rising temperatures could lead to rising ocean levels, which would in turn swamp coastal areas and islands, wipe out species, create economic havoc and amplify the impact of natural disasters such as storms, fires and droughts.
Conference leaders urged delegates to move quickly to combat climate change.
"The eyes of the world are upon you. There is a huge responsibility for Bali to deliver," said Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the conference. "The world now expects a quantum leap forward."
The Bali meeting will be the first major conference of its kind since former Vice President Al Gore and a U.N. scientific council were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October for their environmental work. Gore is expected to arrive in Bali next week.
The immediate aim of the conference is to launch negotiations toward a pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012, set an agenda for further talks and a deadline for action. The U.N. says such an agreement should be concluded by 2009 in order to have a system in place in time.
Contentious issues lie ahead: Should emission cuts be mandatory or voluntary? To what extent will up-and-coming economies such as China and India be asked to rein in their skyrocketing emissions? How will the world's poorest countries be helped in adapting to climate change?
Over the past year, the Bush administration has signaled a willingness to play a larger role in the negotiations. U.N. officials agree they must craft a post-Kyoto framework that wins Washington's approval.
From NPR reports and The Associated Press
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