U.S. – Australia Relations

Climate Change Partnership Looks to Private Sector for Help

Washington, D.C. — 13 January 2006

Six-nation initiative begins work on cleaner energy use

By Cheryl Pellerin
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington — Representatives of the new U.S.-led Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate wrapped up the January 11-12 inaugural meeting in Sydney, Australia, by announcing the establishment of eight public-private task forces that will accelerate clean technology deployment and share best practices in key business sectors.

The voluntary initiative — in which Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States are participating — is designed to accelerate the development and use of cleaner, more efficient technology in a way that promotes economic development and reduces poverty.

The task forces are focusing on cleaner use of fossil energy, renewable and distributed generation, power generation and transmission, aluminum, steel, cement, mining and buildings and appliances.

“Through this partnership,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, “we intend to work together with the private sector, and I would underscore that, to take concrete actions to meet energy and environment needs while securing a more prosperous future for our citizens.”

At the meeting, Bodman also announced that President Bush will request $52 million in his budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins October 1 to support the initiative, along with the $3 billion annual U.S. investment in such renewable energy technologies as hydrogen and carbon sequestration.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia would contribute $100 million over five years to the partnership.

Partner countries have agreed to work together with private companies to expand markets for investment and trade in cleaner, more efficient energy technologies, goods and services.

Speaking with other meeting participants at a closing press conference, Downer called the partnership “a groundbreaking new model for international climate change and energy collaboration.”

The public-private partnership approach, he said, “redefines the international climate change and energy debate with three features: a practical bottom-up approach directly involving industry as equal partners with government in the task forces, a cooperative noncoercive working environment and structure and prioritizing action that benefits both the economy and the environment.”

On January 12, the last day of the meeting, ministers adopted three documents — a charter that provides a framework and a structure, a communiqué that highlights key meeting outcomes and a work plan that maps out an intensive agenda of near-term work for the task forces.

Jiang Weixin, vice minister of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said his government “attaches a great deal of importance to climate change.

“We are now undertaking many measures to reduce environmental pollution, to reduce emissions,” he added. “We are more than willing to work with our partner countries and all countries to gradually reduce emissions to solve the climate problem.”

Jiang said the Chinese government believes reducing greenhouse gas emissions is “a very important policy matter.”

He added that the majority of ministers agreed that the partnership would supplement, not replace, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Kyoto signatories commit to reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases. The United States is not a party to that protocol.

Yuriko Koike, environment minister for Japan, a Kyoto signatory, said his country is committed to meeting its 6 percent emissions reduction.

“At the same time,” he said, “we should be utilizing more energy-saving technologies, [and] sharing that with our partners and other countries to contribute to the global reduction of [carbon dioxide].”

Lee Hee-Beom, South Korea’s minister of commerce, industry and energy, said the Sydney meeting was especially productive because representatives from government and business had a chance to share their views.

Bodman said the partnership harnesses the private sector to address climate change.

“It is the private sector that makes the investment decisions,” he said, “it is the private sector — in all of these countries, not just the U.S. — that develops the technology, it is the private sector that gains the benefits from those investments and is in a position to share.”

Over the next year, Downer said, “we obviously want to find out from the working groups ... what specific progress they’re making in those areas, not just to facilitate access to technology but to see that technology is evolving in ways that are going to contribute to alleviating the problems of climate change.”

Original document from usinfo.state.gov.

Last update: Monday, 19 November 2007 GMT+1000