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The Bali conference of the parties to the Climate Change treaty ended on December 15, 2007, a day late. The parties agreed to a "Bali Roadmap" to recognize the urgency of addressing climate change matters and adopted an agenda and a deadline of 2009 for negotiations to decide what will happen when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Adaptation. It was agreed there will be emphasis on enhanced adaptation, including vulnerability assessments, risk management and risk reduction strategies, disaster reduction strategies, and consideration of economic diversification to build resilience.

Technology Transfer. The parties laid plans to scale up development, investment in, and transfer of green technology to developing countries (particularly for coal, e.g, carbon sequestration). The conference almost collapsed on the 15th when India pointed out that the roadmap document didn't contain specific recognition of the role of developed countries in creating the problem and the need for technology transfer to help solve it.

Reducing Deforestation Emissions. A separate platform for reducing deforestation emissions in developing countries calls for a March 21, 2008 submission of views on forest cover, sustainable management, reductions from deforestation, and nondegradation. With Oregon's large forest resources and our Governor's search for a new forestry chief, it seems important for Oregon to track this initiative and participate, even though it is not a developing country.

Targets. The final roadmap contains no goals for reduction of GHG as such (e.g., 25-40% of 1990 levels by 2020)(in HB3543 Oregon set goals of 10% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 75% reductions by 2050), but it does make reference to the last report of the IPCC on the means needed to restrict global warming to no more than 2º F. The IPCC has reported "business as usual" predictions of 7.2°F and 4+ feet of sea rise by 2100.

Honolulu. A meeting of the 17 largest polluters is planned for January 2008 in Hawaii. The USA apparently intends for the 17, as emitters of 80% of the worlds GHGs, to set voluntary targets for reductions. The EU threatened a boycott if the USA wouldn't agree to specific emissions targets, but withdrew its boycott when the USA agreed to a footnote reference.

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[1]http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_13/application/pdf/cp_bali_action.pdf

[2]In a now famous footnote, which reads: "Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Technical Summary, pages 39 and 90, and Chapter 13, page 776".