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NUSA DUA, Indonesia: A major climate change conference opened on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Monday, aimed at crafting a blueprint for negotiations leading to a new pact for addressing global warming.
Some 190 governments have been called to the 11-day conference which is being held under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Pressure is intensifying on the world's political leaders to deliver a master plan to combat the threat of climate change in the wake of scientists delivering their most urgent warnings yet on rising global temperatures.
Earlier summit head Yvo de Boer said the conference offered a critical opportunity to provide political answers to the scientific warnings on global warming.
"The scientific community has come with very clear messages to the politicians," said De Boer during a press conference.
"The message that addressing climate change is affordable and that concerted action now can avoid many of the catastrophic impacts" that could be ahead, he added, noting that "stronger political will" is necessary.
Other issues include tackling the greenhouse effect, and how the international community can prevent climate change.
Maintaining a focus on deforestation is one aspect of a long-term solution to climate change, de Boer said.
"We have to develop a better understanding of exactly how much carbon is captured in trees if you leave them standing, we have to develop a better understanding of how you can build safeguards to ensure that trees aren't cut down at a later moment in time," he said.
De Boer hoped that the conference would achieve two things, including the launch of a series of pilot projects to show how avoiding deforestation can be beneficial, and a working agreement on climate change.
The conference brings together more than 180 countries together with experts and non-governmental organisations. Some 1,500 journalists from around the world have been accredited for the conference, said de Boer. - AFP/ac
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