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Published on December 13, 2007

 Bali

"It is a 'must' and we believe the UNFCCC can make it," Yongyuth Yuthavong, the Natural Resource and Environment minister and head of the Thai delegation in Bali told The Nation yesterday.

As the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment will end in 2012, the second committed period must be dealt with prior to 2009, so this post-Kyoto issue is among the most heated debates at the Bali meeting.

The difficulty in reaching this new deal is due to politics and the different interests among the UNFCCC's member parties - the (high polluting) rich and the poor (or the Anex I and non-Anex I respectively) - their demands on each other, and that neither party has agreed to further commitments in reducing greenhouse gases.

As a result, negotiations are continuing at the Bali International Convention Centre (BICC), especially towards the process that could lead to the 2009 new deal.

Meanwhile, the media have questioned the possibility of this deal becoming a reality.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon yesterday announced during his speech and press conference for the first day of high-level talks that the new deal will be comprehensive and be reached in 2009.

"The time to act is now. Political will is needed. I hope industrialised countries will take the lead and here in Bali we can negotiate for the new deal, towards a green economic growth," Ban Ki-Moon said.

"Climate change will no longer solely be the environmental issue it once was. It will now become involved with all sectors including finance. We, the Thai people, have to learn this point," Yongyuth said.

In three days of Bali negotiations, Yongyuth said Thailand would propose no special suggestions, but mostly follow the policies of the Group 77 countries (G77) plus China, who refuses to commit to a specific target being pressured for by the highly polluted wealthy countries.

"We agreed to set goals but no specific target," Yongyuth explained. "We will aim to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from the current rate of 4.2 tonnes of carbon per person per year, to 2.3 tonnes by around 2050. But a specific target must not be set as we are afraid we might not be able to meet it."

Yongyuth confirmed Thailand would not fight for the Clean Development Mechanism for the forest sector, as previously reported in The Nation.

In regards to the carbon offshore issue, one Thai expert, Dr Suthawan proposed that carbon emissions from foreign factories in Thailand should count as emissions from their country of origin.

Yongyuth said he supported the idea as it was more fair and reflected the real responsibility for the emissions, but it would not be included in the Thai stand at the conference as it needed time to gain support from other countries before proposing it, he said.

Yongyuth will today make a statement at the high level meeting for heads of delegates from other countries including 144 ministers and six heads of state.

Kamol Sukin

 The Nation