The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, hosted by the Government of Indonesia, took place at the Bali International Convention Centre and brought together more than 10,000 participants, including representatives of 187 nations together with observers from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and the media. The two week period included the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ), its subsidiary bodies as well as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. A ministerial segment in the second week concluded the Conference.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) was first in establishing scientifically the idea that climate change is a direct result of human activity -- specifically by burning fossil fuels which release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The international panel wants world governments to initiate a process under the UNFCCC that results in hard caps for emissions.

The conference was the start of international negotiations on the environment for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol in order to agree on a united global action to fight climate change.

The report from the IPCC is the fourth in a series, and the culmination of four years of research. The report's summary condenses 2,500 pages of previous publications into a policy-focused 23 pages. The IPCC says that the new climate-change deal must be settled in time to ensure that action continues after 2012, when the current phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends.

The conference culminated in the adoption of the Bali roadmap, which charts the course for a new negotiating process to be concluded by 2009 that will ultimately lead to a post-2012 international agreement on climate change. Ground-breaking decisions were taken which form core elements of the roadmap. They include the launch of the Adaptation Fund as well as decisions on technology transfer and on reducing emissions from deforestation, all of them essential to achieving a secure climate future.

The pivotal agreement among the 187 nations present was a commitment to establish "deep cuts" in global emissions. That means developed countries will be required to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 per cent by 2020.

The negotiations for the second phase of Kyoto must be completed by 2009, in order to allow for ratification by all countries and entry into force well before 2012, when the first phase ends.

Political leaders at the UN climate conference in Bali hammered out a deal that will launch negotiations to put the world on a path towards deeper emission cuts after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

The road map agreed in Bali now means a new climate treaty must be negotiated by the end of 2009 to replace Kyoto.

In addition to setting a range of emission reduction targets for industrialized countries, the Bali roadmap contains commitments to negotiate actions to control emissions in developing countries; financial agreements for adaptation and the transfer of climate-friendly technology; and an agreement to tackle the problem of deforestation in developing countries.

The document, which will come into force in 2012, also sets up a global agreement to stop tropical deforestation.

Key developing countries have shown a willingness to take on new commitments at the two-week-long UN climate conference. The United States, Russia, Japan and Canada were at the forefront of moves to block such targets. The US delegation in particular proved a major obstacle to progress. They appeared to operate a wrecking policy, as though determined to derail the whole process.

Canada worked with the United States for most of the meeting to oppose crucial elements of the Bali roadmap. As a result, parts of the deal are too vague to assure a successful outcome of the next round of UN negotiations, due to be completed in 2009. Canada worked against the key elements of this deal for most of the two weeks in Bali, and was singled out by other countries and high-ranking UN officials for its obstructive behaviour.

Canada initially opposed this emissions reduction range in the final negotiating session, but agreed not to block the consensus position when it found itself virtually isolated. Canada’s current targets and policies fall far short of the standard set in Bali. Nothing less than a massive scale-up of federal efforts on climate change is required for Canada to play a responsible part in the next two years of negotiations.

The agreement to develop approaches to reduce deforestation and forest degradation is a key outcome of the conference. Protecting carbon stored in forests and other ecosystems is an important complement to deep cuts in fossil fuel emissions.

The first steps towards transferring "clean" technology to developing countries to help them reduce pollution levels were also agreed. Plans for financial support to halt deforestation and degradation in developing countries were also worked out.

The United States, the world's biggest polluter, was initially opposed to signing up for emission reduction targets. When similar plans were made at Kyoto in 1997, the US refused to ratify the treaty. However, in Bali the US agreed to be included in the reduction plans - the first time it has made such a commitment.

Emerging powers China and India will also be bound to universal eco-friendly commitments.

The fact that there is no agreement about how far to cut emissions means the Bali road map is missing a significant result. Politicians were unable to commit themselves to the recommendations of the scientific community for securing the global life-support systems.

Nevertheless, 187 nations have agreed on a plan to fight climate change and thus ensuring a better future for all of us, the next generations, and all life on Earth.

Global Community recommendations concerning UN climate change conference in Bali are:

1.      Re-write the Bali road map into a legal document with legislation, global laws to be enforced;

2.      Include sanctions to be implemented when a nation failed to achieve the objectives of the Bali road map; and

3.      Acquire funds to be administered by the Global Protection Agency ( GPA ) for the implementation of the sanctions.