Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate: Facts at a Glance

On 28 July 2005, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Alexander Downer, joined with Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors from China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States to announce the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, a new regional initiative to accelerate clean development and address climate change.

Ministers also released the Partnership's Vision Statement that outlines the core principles and partners' shared vision.

Partner countries are focused on cooperation to achieve practical results. As the founding partners represent almost half of world GDP, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and population, the group has the potential to make a significant impact. The six founding partner countries encompass:

- 49 per cent of world GDP

- 48 per cent of the world energy consumption

- 48 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and

- 45 per cent of the world's population.

Australia will host the Partnership's inaugural Ministerial Meeting in Sydney in January 2006 to build on the principles of the Vision Statement through developing a charter and means for implementation.

All partners recognise the region's increasing energy needs, the fundamental importance of economic development, and the importance of addressing environmental issues such as climate change and air pollution in practical ways that make economic sense. The partners recognise these issues are interrelated and seek to address them in an integrated manner.

Climate change, energy security and air pollution are serious long-term challenges, requiring sustained action over many generations by both developed and developing countries. The partners recognise that more needs to be done that just setting short-term goals or pretending there is a quick fix.

The partnership will focus on practical measures participating countries can take promoting the more widespread development and deployment of existing and emerging cleaner, more efficient technologies and practices.

The Partnership will build on the partners' close bilateral and regional relationships and common interests. Partners are, and will continue to be actively engaged in related international forums such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency.

Australian participation reflects the approach adopted by the Government last year in its Energy White Paper and articulated during the election in A Sustainable Australia. Any long-term approach to address climate change must engage all major emitters and recognise practical action to develop and deploy technologies.

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