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BALI,
Indonesia— Thousands of delegates at the UN
climate-change summit here hailed Australian Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd’s move to finally sign the paperwork
for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in his first
official act after being sworn in as leader on Monday.
The move leaves the
US
as the only remaining major emitter-country to have
refused to sign the treaty, aimed at curbing the
emission of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
Delegates from 180 countries, including government
officials, scientists and nongovernment organizations,
erupted into a long applause and a standing ovation at
the opening ceremony of the conference, acknowledging
Australia’s move to sign the UN treaty.
“It was
an emotional and spontaneous reaction to a very
significant political decision on the part of the
Australian government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol,”
said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN’s
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Boer
told reporters “the long applause in fact reflects the
international community’s appreciation for the courage
shown by Australia to take this dramatically different
position, to engage even more strongly with the
international community on the question of climate
change.”
The
conference, which began Monday, is expected to negotiate
a “Bali road map” for the next round of global efforts
on climate change when the first round of targets under
the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
Prime
Minister Rudd is expected to attend the high-level
sessions of the Bali talks next week to participate in
talks for a new global-warming treaty.
US not a
‘roadblock’
Harlan
Watson, US senior climate-change negotiator and head of
the US delegation, said his country was “committed to
advancing negotiations for the post-2012 world” and
“would not be a roadblock in this climate-change road
map” at Bali.
“We
respect Australia’s decision. We’re not here to be a
roadblock. We’re committed to a successful conclusion
here,” Watson told reporters.
Watson
stressed that the
US
intends to be flexible and work constructively with all
convention parties to achieve consensus on a “Bali road
map” that will guide negotiations on a new post-2012
global climate-change regime that is environmentally
effective and economically sustainable. |
