Bali Conference, Day 5: No rest for the weary

Friday’s here, but the work at the UN climate conference in Bali continues tomorrow.

I woke to the shrill ring of my hotel-room phone. Following a moment of confusion as to how it could possibly be time to get up, I remembered it was my shift for editing ECO, the Climate Action Network’s widely read daily publication that gives a voice to the environmental NGOs here. I splashed water on my face, slipped on some sandals, and walked through the darkened corridors to the room that ECO calls home. Having gone to bed at around 1 AM, I winced when I caught sight of the clock from the corner of my eye: 5 AM.

To say I’m not a morning person would be an understatement. Nonetheless, walking into the ECO room and finding the editor-in-chief, Nithi, who’d been at it all night, I realized I was in no position to complain. And once I’d coaxed my brain into interpreting the text my blurry eyes were seeing on the page, it really wasn’t so bad.

Fortunately, I finished up with ECO in time for a shower and some breakfast before heading to a meeting that the EU delegation had requested with the Climate Action Network’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) group. I’d rank it as the most productive meeting I’ve been to all week (though that’s a pretty low bar). Both sides of the table were well versed on the issues and spoke frankly about their views as to how the mechanism might evolve in the future.

While there was disagreement on some issues in the meeting, at this point I simply find the open acknowledgment of disagreement to be a breath of fresh air. It’s certainly a refreshing change from the some of the tactics of delegates from certain enormous, non-Kyoto countries, who’ve shown a penchant for making loud proclamations about climate solutions whilst quietly pulling the rug out from under negotiations.

I’m not actually THAT cynical about the proceedings here. Perhaps it’s just the heat getting to me. Following the EU meeting, I attended a formal session (though in conference parlance labeled an ‘informal group’) around midday on the CDM. It had a more productive feel than previous meetings, in part because the chair arrived with a proposed text that gave delegations something concrete to react to.

The venue may also have contributed. The session was hosted in a large temporary building. With perhaps eight large air-conditioning units working at full-blast, the environment quite literally hummed with energy-climate implications. Despite the energy expenditure, about an hour into the session I was surprised that people weren’t passing out—the co-chairs were fanning themselves and people started walking out. The temperature must have reached 40°C in there. I suspect this was someone’s clever strategy to quell debate. Not a bad idea, really, and appropriate. Get things moving or we’ll turn up the heat!

In my ‘free time,’ I continue to attend side events. Recently, I’ve attended some very insightful presentations on such topics as: regional approaches to climate-change adaptation in Africa, the capacity of market mechanisms to mitigate climate change, and means of incorporating the transportation sector into a climate-stabilization strategy.

I admit that I’m a bit stretched to soak up all of the information. However, all the topics are very relevant to the present and future work of Worldwatch, so I’m trying to take it all in and digest it later with the help of the Worldwatch team.

In the interest of full disclosure, there is another good reason to attend the side events: tasty snacks. Most people don’t take the time for a proper meal during the day, so many of the side events generously host a reception at the tail end. I feel a bit like a student again, holding out for the food at the end of a seminar. But in the end, I happily join the crowd enjoying the free eats (see photo, right).

I’m going to take a break from the blog for the weekend, but the conference continues. You can be sure that when I come back online on Monday, the energy level here will be heading toward new heights.