中国气候变化信息网 China Climate Change Info-Net

As the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali is running into the second week of negotiations, the various contact groups are intensifying efforts to maximize progress before the arrival of Ministers for the High-Level segment that starts on Wednesday.

Contact groups and informal consultations continued Tuesday as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined the discussions here on Tuesday morning to add to voices for global actions on climate change.

One of the areas of visible disagreement at the Bali Conference is the need for quantified national emission targets for industrialized countries -- guided by the range of 25-40 percent reductions by 2020 -- and the need for emissions to peak in the next 10-15 years.

The IPCC suggests that a reduction in greenhouse gases in the range of 25-40 percent by 2020 is necessary in order to keep the earth's temperature from rising 2 degrees Celsus.

The European Union (EU) has suggested that a roadmap would require a "long-term" vision and that includes setting such a target. The United States, however, has maintained that the Bali document should not contain targets or any other goals that would "prejudge" the outcome of the negotiations.

However, one notable success so far is the agreement on Monday evening on the Adaptation Fund, with the final text being greeted by enthusiastic applause.

In a daily press briefing on Tuesday, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer hailed the agreement as "encouraging."

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed on Monday how the Adaptation Fund will operate, including its governing body, functions, secretariat, trustee and other institutional arrangements.

"The decision on the GEF as the Secretariat and the World Bank as trustee was widely expected, although the reference to this as an interim arrangement up for review every three years was a surprise to me," says one observer.

"I think most of us are delighted to have finalized the Fund whether you like the precise details or not," adds another.

Parties also acknowledged the need to strengthen existing commitments and enhance their implementation, especially with regard to developing countries.

Meanwhile, delegates continued on Tuesday discussions over the Co-Facilitators '"non-paper" on the Convention track distributed later on Saturday. While there was almost universal endorsement of the text as a sound basis for negotiations, the jury was still out on the ability of parties to project a common vision in a Bali roadmap.

Some parties were already positioning themselves for several long days of talks, with initial sparring reported regarding language on targets, and which countries these should apply to.

"The text is a good start, but I don't think we'll see an agreement on the roadmap before Friday," warns a delegate.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will deliver a statement at the opening of the High-Level segment on Wednesday and the segment is due to end on Friday. During these last three days of the conference, Environment Ministers will seek to reach agreement on the shape of a future international climate pact, the so-called "Bali roadmap."

The United Nations Climate Change Conference opened on the Indonesian island on Dec. 3.