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.