Delegates undecided over Bali Commitment

Delegates undecided over Bali Commitment

The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Two deadlines have passed and the negotiations on the Bali
Commitment remain deadlocked, although the talks are now
centering on fundamental issues that could open the way to new
compromises, according to an Indonesian delegate.

The delegate said on Sunday that intense negotiations
throughout Saturday night had failed to find common ground. A new
deadline had now been set for Monday evening, he said.

Talks on the Bali Commitment, as yet still called the
Chairman's Text, have been progressing slowly since they began a
week ago.

The Bali Commitment is an action plan that the heads of state
will sign at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development
in Johannesburg, South Africa, from late August to September.

The delegate said that securing a favorable Chairman's Text
would not only win the country better facilities for alleviating
poverty and protecting its environment, but could also be used as
a platform for gaining positions of influence in the World Trade
Organization (WTO), and international conferences.

Head of the Indonesian delegation Makarim Wibisono has said
that Indonesia's interest was to preserve the text in its
original form when it was released by the meeting's chairman Emil
Salim.

But disagreements over the plan's implementation and the
degree of commitments, added to trade interests, have undermined
the talks.

So far, intense meetings since Wednesday have managed to focus
the discussions on the most contentious issues.

The delegate, who requested anonymity, said that at this stage
when fundamental issues remained unresolved, horse trading would
likely lead to compromises.

He said the issues involved included the chapters that dealt
with energy, the oceans, means and implementation of the action
plan, and good governance.

Energy remained deadlocked over time targets and the
percentage by which renewable energy should replace fossil fuel
consumption. Several oil-exporting countries threw their weight
against the shift towards renewable energy and succeeded in
deadlocking the negotiations.

Talks on the oceans remain divided over whether or not whaling
should be allowed, with Japan and Iceland rejecting a strict ban.

Chapter IX on Means and Implementation continues to draw mixed
arguments dividing mainly developed countries from the developing
ones.

Indonesia, a member of Group-77/China, is pushing for more
concrete action defined by time targets and stronger wordings.

While this position has the backing of the European Union
(EU), it must face another developed countries' negotiating block
known as JUSCANZ.

The United States is leading JUSCANZ, which group together
Japan, the U.S, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Indonesian delegate Djumala Darmansjah said earlier that a
trade-off could be achieved if negotiations on means and
implementation extended to good governance issues, as proposed by
JUSCANZ.

Djumala said that JUSCANZ was demanding developing countries
improve their governance, meaning curbing corruption so as to
ensure that foreign aid reached its intended targets.

He also predicted that under the means and implementation
heading, Indonesia could secure a clause demanding that developed
countries provided greater access to developing countries'
products.

While previous discussions were conducted by three working
groups, since Friday the unresolved issues have been brought
before the committee as a whole, which combines the working
groups.

Starting on Monday, delegates will start drafting the
political text, which the heads of states are expected to sign in
Johannesburg.

The Indonesian delegate said that equipped with a favorable
Bali Commitment that had been approved by world leaders, the
country could boost its bargaining position during other
international negotiations.