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Gary LaMoshi does not know what he is talking about. Writing in the Asia Times, the sometimes Slate and Salon contributor is dismissive of the Bali negotiations because it will not deliver a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol. Of course, Bali will not produce a new climate change treaty, because the meeting in Bali is not intended to negotiate the ins and outs of a new treaty. Rather, Bali is a "process meeting" intended to lay out a framework for the ways in the which the negotiations will unfold over the next two years.
LaMoshi either does not know this, or is simply ignoring this fact to take some swipes at the UN and "freeloaders, airlines and five-star hotel operators that are the real beneficiaries of these meetings." Says LaMoshi:
[B]ali won't deliver an agreement to cut the carbon emissions that are the top reason for global warming. It won't deliver commitments from the world's top three sources of carbon emissions -- including host country Indonesia -- to accept emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. Despite the millions spent on airfares, hotel rooms, taxis, and resort meals, it won't deliver a dime to poor or rich countries to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
What LaMoshi does not seem to understand is that Bali won't address these very specific points because delegates are not meeting in Bali to discuss these points or 'deliver commitments.' Over the next two years, when the actual substance of a climate change treaty is being hammered out, negotiators will of course address these issues.
So how do we measure success in a process meeting like this? Former climate change negotiator and UN Foundation President Senator Tim Wirth, says it best: "Bali will be a success if all the engaged countries devise, agree upon and embark on a process that leads to a comprehensive new agreement for next steps in implementing the climate treaty." In other words, the metric of success at Bali will be whether or not things like timetables, end dates and the subjects of future meetings are agreed upon by member states.
Success in Bali should not be measured by the standards that LaMoshi simply invented for himself.