Drama in Bali: News accounts of this past weekend´s wrap-up of the two-week U.N. climate talks in Bali, Indonesia, make interesting reading, to say the least.

 

An exchange that took place during the conference´s closing hours Saturday has set the online news world abuzz. In fact, the reports that came out Sunday almost make the incident sound too pat, too Hollywood-scripted. But all the accounts I´ve read thus far sum it up the same way: The U.S. delegation backed down amid a flurry of criticism after the United States´ lead negotiator, Paula Dobriansky, objected to a proposed amendment from India´s representative that would require wealthy nations to provide more aid to poor nations to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change.

 

The straw that broke the camel´s back came when Papua New Guinea´s negotiator, Kevin Conrad, spoke. Aiming his comments at the U.S. delegation, Conrad said, "We seek your leadership. ... But if for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. ... Please get out of the way."

 

That brought an explosion of applause, and the U.S. abruptly reversed course. "We want success here in Bali," Dobriansky said. "We will go forward and join consensus."

 

Imagine the thunderclap this must have set off in La-La Land. Imagine the big-shot Hollywood producers´ phone lines burning up today. "David just nailed Goliath again. Get me what´s-his-name, the guy who wrote ´Erin Brockovich´ -- pronto. This is money in the bank if we get to him first. And it has Oscar written all over it. Hurry."

 

The gist of the news stories about the Bali conference -- of which there are dozens if not hundreds available on the Internet -- is that the U.S. has been painted into a corner regarding how best to alleviate global warming. Most of the world´s nations insist that the only effective way to fight climate change is to set concrete, externally monitored emission caps; while the U.S. maintains that climate change must be fought with voluntary emission controls because mandatory caps would cause grave damage to the world´s economies.

 

That impasse may be broken soon. The agreement reached in Bali sets forth a two-year timetable to create a new international climate treaty that will supplant the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. And this time around, three of the world´s biggest greenhouse gas emitters that were not involved in the Kyoto treaty -- the U.S., China and India – have given every indiciation that they plan to take part.

 

Another factor that will play into this process -- some would say the most crucial factor -- is that U.S. voters will be headed to the polls next November to install a new administration in Washington. That election is sure to play a major role in laying the path for future international climate talks to follow.

 

For those of us whose business revolves around the environment, 2008 and 2009 will be pivotal years, here and everywhere.

 

Pete Fehrenbach is managing editor of Waste News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

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