Breakthrough in Bali as US makes climate compromise

~ Under pressure, Washingtong drops opposition to new deal

By Emma Graham-Harrison

A jubilant delegate applauds during the high level segment of the Third Session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, yesterday. AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Saturday (Reuters) - Nearly 200 nations agreed at U.N.-led talks in Bali today to launch negotiations on a new pact to fight global warming after a reversal by the United States allowed a historic breakthrough. Washington said the agreement marked a new chapter in climate diplomacy after six years of disputes with major allies since President George W. Bush pulled out in 2001 from the Kyoto Protocol, the main existing plan for combating warming.

“This is the defining moment for me and my mandate as secretary-general,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said after making a special return trip to Bali to implore delegates to overcome deadlock after the talks ran a day into overtime. Ban had been on a visit to East Timor. “I am deeply grateful to many member states for their spirit of flexibility and compromise,” Ban told Reuters.

The Bali meeting approved a “roadmap” for two years of talks to adopt a new treaty to succeed Kyoto beyond 2009, widening it to the United States and developing nations such as China and India. Under the deal, a successor pact will be agreed at a meeting in Copenhagen in late 2009.

The deal after two weeks of talks came after the United States dramatically dropped opposition to a proposal by the main developing-nation bloc, the G77, for rich nations to do more to help the developing world fight rising greenhouse emissions. Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar, the host of the talks, banged down the gavel on the deal to rapturous applause from delegates, weary after intensive talks and numerous disputes over the past fortnight.

“I think it was encouraging. That was a real sign of willingness to compromise,” Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, said of the U.S. climbdown. The accord marks a step towards slowing global warming that the U.N. climate panel says is caused by human activities led by burning fossil fuels that produce carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Scientists say rising temperatures could cause seas to rise sharply, glaciers to melt, storms and droughts to become more intense and mass migration of climate refugees.

“The U.S. has been humbled by the overwhelming message by developing countries that they are ready to be engaged with the problem, and it's been humiliated by the world community. I've never seen such a flip-flop in an environmental treaty context ever,” said Bill Hare of Greenpeace. The European Union was pleased with the deal.