Woodside, Rio Executives to Meet on Reducing Climate Change


Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Rio Tinto Group and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. are among 60 companies that will join the U.S. and five other nations in a meeting in Sydney tomorrow to seek ways of reducing climate change by developing new technologies.
The gathering will precede the inaugural meeting Jan. 12 of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, a group including Australia, Japan, India, South Korea and China, that seeks to rely on developing technologies to reduce pollution without harming economic growth.
Australia's government in August described the meeting as ``a technology-focused, pro-growth approach to climate change.'' The U.S. and Australia have rebuffed the Kyoto Protocol that mandates a timetable for emissions cuts.
``We're optimistic. The key issue is, can it provide a framework for investment,'' said Tony Wood, a spokesman for energy retailer Origin Energy Ltd., whose Managing Director Grant King will take part in the talks. ``We'd be very keen to participate in working through with government the mechanisms as to how'' technologies may be developed and utilized to address climate change.
The countries attending the Sydney meeting as part of a ``partnership'' announced in July account for 48 percent of both world energy consumption and global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an Australian fact sheet. The alliance doesn't commit the partners to specific emissions reductions or to emissions trading.
Global Fund
As part of the initiative, the Australian government may put about A$100 million ($75 million) into a global fund to help China and India adopt cleaner technologies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, blamed for global warming, the Australian newspaper said Jan. 7. The U.S. is also expected to contribute to the fund, it said.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. Chief Executive Don Voelte, Preston Chiaro, chief executive of Rio Tinto Group's energy business, Oscar Groeneveld, head of Rio's aluminum unit and Peter Coates, chief executive of Xstrata Plc's coal unit are to attend the meeting, which will include 120 industry observers.
The conference will be co-chaired by Australian Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, said Kirsty Boazman, Macfarlane's spokeswoman.
`Specific Technologies'
Macfarlane's goal from the industry talks is to ``nail down some specific technologies, and which countries will take the lead on which projects,'' Boazman said. Six to eight technologies are likely to be selected for further co-operative work, including specific projects, she said. Australia is particularly interested to focus on technologies such as clean coal-based power generation, geo-sequestration, solar energy, renewable energy storage and geothermal, she said.
Wayne Osborn, managing director of Alcoa Inc.'s Australian unit, Jay Johnson, managing director of Chevron Corp.'s Australian unit, and Mark Twidell, regional director, Australasia, of BP Plc's solar energy unit, will participate in the talks, spokespeople for the companies said. Representatives from Peabody Energy Corp., American Electric Power Co., Japan Iron and Steel Federation and India's National Thermal Power Corp. will also attend, Boazman said.
Executives from Steel Authority of India Ltd., Tokyo Electric Power Co. and China Huaneng Group are also scheduled to attend.
Political Talks
Those attending the political talks on Jan. 12 include Lee Hee-Beom, South Korea's minister of commerce, industry and energy, A Raja, India's environment minister, and Jiang Weixin, deputy chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, Boazman said. James Connaughton, environmental adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush, and Paula Dobriansky, under secretary of state and global affairs, will also attend, after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice canceled because of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's incapacitation after a stroke.
During the meeting, South Korea will propose an energy technology cooperation center to measure how efficiently energy will be used in the Asia-Pacific region, the South Korean energy ministry said yesterday in a statement. South Korea will also hold bilateral talks with the U.S. and Australia on expanding cooperation in natural resources, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: January 9, 2006 17:42 EST