EU shows its influence in Bali

The unlikely deal agreed at the UN summit in Bali at the weekend was a welcome surprise after two days of bitter wrangling, not least a bitter stand-off between the European Union and the US, with the US delegation refused to sign any text until the eleventh hour.

The "Bali roadmap" will initiate a two-year negotiation process to finalise a set of emissions targets to replace the Kyoto protocol by the time of the 2009 UN climate change conference to be held in Denmark.

The process is an example of the clout of the EU when we have a united position. Already committed to unilateral emissions cuts of 20% by 2020, European countries were able to speak with authority and a common voice - making a deal more likely.

We did not achieve the holy grail of binding targets for cutting emissions but getting the US, who never ratified Kyoto and have, until recently, even denied the need to cut emissions to tackle climate change, to agree to a text stating that "deep cuts in global emissions will be required" is a damn good start.