Analysis: The choice now for the US is to give real leadership on environmental issues or get left behind as other countries get on with it, writes Frank McDonaldin Bali.
Seven years ago, when the sixth UN climate change summit in The Hague collapsed in a welter of recriminations, there was an editorial in this newspaper quoting the immortal words of Mark Twain: "Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it".
That was certainly true at the time. Global warming was perceived as a more distant threat, something that would affect our grandchildren, perhaps, rather than us. But now we know it's already happening, thanks to the meticulous scientific work of the Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Its latest assessment, published this year, was so alarming that it made everyone prick up their ears, all over the world. If we are to avoid dangerous climate change, the IPCC warned, global greenhouse gas emissions would have to peak in 2015 and then start falling, by as much as 80 per cent by 2050.
This message has been taken to heart, with the result that there is a lot happening on the ground that gives rise to hope for the future of the planet. Instead of hanging around waiting for governments to take action, wise people in positions of power are proving Mark Twain wrong by doing something about the weather.
Take Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City. At a press briefing in boiling hot Bali yesterday, he co-signed a Climate Protection Agreement with the deputy mayor of London, Nicky Gavron, pledging to reduce their cities' greenhouse gas emissions by 60-80 per cent by 2050, in line with the IPCC's target.
Not only that. They confidently expect to be joined in this effort by thousands of mayors around the world, including those running 40 of the biggest cities. And given that cities are responsible for up to 80 per cent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, this bold initiative has the potential to change the world.
Already, 700 US cities - both large and small - have signed up to the Kyoto Protocol, even though their own government would have nothing to do with it.
"Leading by example is the best way of getting others to come along," said Bloomberg, who is clearly focused on what needs to be done.
Saving the world, according to him, will be "an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary process" in which cities will play a vital role. Many of the larger cities are also in the frontline in terms of the impact of global warming - particularly rising sea levels - so they have a real incentive to take steps to prevent the worst happening.
One by one, countries are also pledging to become "carbon neutral". New Zealand aims to become "the world's first truly sustainable nation", generating 90 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2025 and halving its per capita transport emissions by 2040 through the introduction of electric or biofuel-powered cars.
Norway and Sweden aim to become "climate neutral" by 2050. In Norway's case, this will involve "pursuing vigorous energy savings and efficiency measures at home" and also purchasing carbon credits for clean development projects abroad. Last week it pledged to invest €1.7 billion over five years in protecting tropical rainforests.
And Costa Rica, the only Latin American country with no armed forces, has pledged to become "climate neutral" by 2021 - the 200th anniversary of its independence from Spain. It imposed a carbon tax in 1996 and 3.5 per cent of the revenue raised goes to the National Forestry Financing Fund.
There has also been a sea change in attitudes among the business community, with all sorts of initiatives being taken across the board. As Bloomberg said, the imposition of carbon taxes or mandatory caps on emissions limits together with carbon trading will "energise innovation" in climate-friendly technologies.
Another positive pointer for the future is that the Bush administration, which everyone in Bali knows did its best to obstruct the adoption of a meaningful mandate, only has 13 months to go. And as Al Gore predicted here, whoever succeeds Bush is likely to have a more constructive approach to climate talks. Such an approach would have to embrace thorny issues like quantifiable emission reductions, acceptance of the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" by developed and developing countries, substantial aid and technology transfer - all within the multilateral framework of the United Nations.
It also needs to be guided by the science, as embodied in the Nobel prize-winning work of the IPCC, which will continue to provide comprehensive assessments of the latest state of scientific knowledge about the reality and risks of climate change to inform the whole process and drive it forward.
Bloomberg is not alone in seeing the writing on the wall. The world is changing, and the choice for the US is to give real leadership in tackling climate change or to be left behind as other countries, as well as a growing number of US cities and states, get on with the monumental task of "doing something about the weather".