I’m not entirely sure what came out of of Bali as far as the negotiated agreement is concerned, but I’m pretty sure it unnerved those leaders who think they can keep playing the same role, reading the same lines, and assume the curtain will never come down.
Best line out of Bali:
If for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please, get out of the way.
– Kevin Conrad, Papua New Guinea
“…I’m pretty sure it unnerved those leaders who think they can keep playing the same role, reading the same lines, and assume the curtain will never come down.”
I wish I shared your optimism. These three all come from constituencies that are heavily committed to continued dependency on fossil fuels, (especially Stephen Harper who, we tend to forget, has his feet firmly in the Tar Sands).
I think they came away with precisely what they had originally intended: The absolute derailment of the entire conference.
I had two thoughts.
First of all, its good some type of consensus has finally emerged. We can investigate ad nauseum the appearance of steroids in baseball, (gasp, no, really?), over focus on the minutiae of the celebrity, overcompensate with family while seeming to ignore reality.
Our overuse of resources and wasting rampant consumption. We are rotting from excess in many ways. It could be temporary if we decided to act clearly.
My other thought is more simple.
Why couldn’t they have used video conferencing or something more virtual? Traveling to bali is putting pressure on that ecosystem. Did they do any carbon neutral overtures? This was a waste of a genuine way to make a meaningful statement about what it takes to stop wasting resources. Virtually meeting, using telephone, video feeds, and online collaboration spaces – it works. The WebEx’s, GoToMeetings, MS Live Meeting, etc are all evidence of this.