Conference to balance climate change, economic growth and poverty reduction

Bali, Indonesia, 03 December 2007 - About 10,000 delegates from 190 countries, including ministers of environment from 130 countries, are expected to take part in the two-week conference which opened today in Bali, Indonesia, to negotiate new agreements which African negotiators say must balance reduction of carbon emissions with the need for economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries.

Five heads of state, including the Australian prime minister-elect, Kevin Rudd, and Al Gore, co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, have also confirmed their attendance

The Bali conference will address four core areas ---climate adaptation, mitigation to curb green house emissions, transfer of technology to developing countries and a financing scheme to curb the impacts of climate change.

The aim is to have new sets of agreements in place by 2009 to replace the first phase of Kyoto protocols which expires in 2012.

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), Yvo de Boer, the main organizer of the Conference, said yesterday at a press briefing that it usually takes two years to negotiate such agreements and a few more years for countries to ratify them.

He said the main challenge of the conference was how to “create an international financial flow that will allow developing countries to limit the growth of their carbon emissions while at the same time allowing economic growth and poverty reduction

UN agencies will hold over 30 side events at the Conference, consisting of various panel discussions on issues including climate change and hunger, financial flows, vulnerability, and regional perspectives on addressing climate change.