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  Straits Times 7 Sep 07
China, West headed for clash over global warming
Beijing says greenhouse gas cuts should be part of UN pact,
scuttling Aussie hopes for consensus at Apec
By Roger Maynard

Straits Times 6 Sep 07
Engage China in climate change policy, says Bush
US backs new Aussie global warming plan, but China and Asean nations are cool to it

Channel NewsAsia 5 Sep 07
Developing nations resist Australian climate change move

SYDNEY - Developing nations led by China and Southeast Asian states are resisting efforts by the United States and Australia to forge a new framework for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, diplomats said Wednesday.

Sharp disagreements over a statement on climate change to be issued at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit here have highlighted the divisions, the diplomats said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has put climate change high on the summit's agenda, proposing a new approach that would veer away from the Kyoto Protocol, the main international treaty on climate change.

The Kyoto accord expires in 2012 and the APEC summit is one of a series of meetings at which plans for a post-Kyoto agreement on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions behind global warming are being discussed.

Australia and the United States have rejected Kyoto on the grounds that it did not commit developing countries -- such as China and India -- to the same sort of emissions cuts as industrialised nations.

Howard has proposed a "new template" after 2012 calling on developing nations to do more to cut their own emissions.

This has met with robust opposition from developing states, who accuse Australia of undermining the Kyoto accord and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).

An Indonesian diplomat, who asked not to be named, said Australia should allow the UNFCC to take the lead in planning strategies for the post-Kyoto world. The UNFCC is holding its meeting in Bali in December.

"We don't want any duplication of the UN framework. There should be no action plans in the (leaders') statement" at the APEC summit, said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.

Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said her country would support "any strong statement" on averting a global climate disaster, but targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be set under the UN framework.

"So whatever we talk about here... these must be complementary to the UN processes. It cannot be instead of the UN processes," she told AFP.

Pangestu said Indonesia also feels that tackling climate change should go beyond just reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving energy efficiency. "We must take into account the development concerns of developing countries," she said.

A senior Asian foreign ministry official said he and his colleagues in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held a meeting on Monday to coordinate their positions on the climate change statement.

"We're saying that for the purpose of the leaders' statement, you don't have to include the action agenda," the official said. "It should be a short statement and straightforward. They should not put in too many details. China supports the ASEAN bloc," he said.

China, one of the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, has said it should not be expected to take drastic action because it needs to focus on lifting more Chinese out of poverty through economic growth.

But Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer urged developing nations Wednesday to accept that they have to do more to cut gas emissions while addressing poverty.

"We should try to take a more inclusive view of addressing the issue of greenhouse gas emissions," he told a news conference. "Hopefully through APEC, we will be able to make some progress in changing the paradigms of how the whole issue of climate change is addressed, but I have no illusions of that being easy." - AFP/ir

Straits Times 6 Sep 07
Engage China in climate change policy, says Bush
US backs new Aussie global warming plan, but China and Asean nations are cool to it

SYDNEY - US PRESIDENT George W. Bush has urged Pacific Rim countries to band together to tackle global warming, saying China and all other major polluters must be part of any effective solution.

Ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum this weekend, Mr Bush yesterday backed an Australian proposal that Asia-Pacific countries endorse a new, inclusive approach to the divisive challenge of climate change - one that, unlike the current Kyoto Protocol, would require firmer action by China and other developing countries.

However, American and Australian efforts to forge a new framework for cutting greenhouse gas emissions have been met with resistance by developing countries, led by China and South-east Asian states, diplomats said yesterday.

'For there to be an effective climate change policy, China needs to be at the table,' Mr Bush said at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

The two leaders issued a joint statement that said nuclear power was key to tackling climate change, along with new energy technologies.

'If you truly care about greenhouse gases, then you will support nuclear power,' Mr Bush said. 'After all, nuclear power enables you to generate electricity without any greenhouse gases.'

During their bilateral meeting yesterday, both leaders agreed to a 'joint nuclear energy action plan' involving cooperation on civil nuclear energy, including research and development and technical training.

The Australian Prime Minister has put climate change high on the Apec summit's agenda, and his country's new proposed approach would veer away from the Kyoto Protocol, the main international treaty on climate change.

Australia and the United States have rejected Kyoto, which expires in 2012, on the grounds that it did not commit developing countries - such as China and India - to the same sort of emissions cuts as industrialised nations.

Not only do developing Apec economies, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, disagree with the new American and Australian statement, but they also believe little will be achieved at Apec.

Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz has warned Australia that Apec is not the right forum for the climat e change agenda.

And while Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said her country would support 'any strong statement' on averting a global climate disaster, she felt that targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be set under the United Nations framework.

A senior Asian foreign ministry official said he and his Asean colleagues held a meeting on Monday to coordinate their positions on the climate change statement.

'We are saying that for the purpose of the leaders' statement, you do not have to include the action agenda,' the official said. 'It should be a short statement and straightforward. They should not put in too many details. China supports the Asean bloc.'

Even though Mr Howard backs use of nuclear energy in the fight against climate change, Australia has no nuclear power plants, and there is widespread public opposition to nuclear power in the country.

Environmental groups say the Apec summit will be a failure if the leaders do not commit to binding greenhouse gas reduction targets.

'Nuclear is a dead-end, high-risk technology, and the proposed research and development will not realise anything for decades. It represents a great missed opportunity for real action at Apec,' said Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Dave Sweeney.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

Straits Times 7 Sep 07
China, West headed for clash over global warming
Beijing says greenhouse gas cuts should be part of UN pact,
scuttling Aussie hopes for consensus at Apec
By Roger Maynard

IN SYDNEY - CHINA set itself on a collision course with the West over a hot topic - climate change - scuttling hopes for a strong statement on measures to curb global warming at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, which opens here today.

The United States and host Australia had hoped to force emerging nations to commit themselves at the summit to cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

But Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday insisted the issue should be subject to a United Nations agreement, effectively blasting a hole in Australian Prime Minister John Howard's hopes for a consensus on such measures at the weekend summit of Pacific Rim leaders.

The Australian host had put climate change at the top of the agenda, but most Apec members are expected to line up behind China.

At a joint press conference with Mr Howard, President Hu said that while he welcomed climate change being discussed in Sydney, the main channel for international agreement on the problem should be with the UN.

Mr Hu made a compelling argument on behalf of developing countries - that richer nations should bear more responsibility for reducing global pollution than poorer ones still trying to catch up. Any declaration at the summit must acknowledge this, he added.

Mr Hu's strong stand reflected China's increasing muscle in Apec in the run-up to the summit. Taking centrestage yesterday, he held meetings with both Mr Howard and US President George W. Bush.

Canberra and Beijing signed pacts for an annual security summit and an energy deal, upgrading their ties to a new level. The annual security talks, the first between the two countries, will be similar to discussions that Australia has with the US and Japan.

Contentious issues were discussed when Mr Hu met Mr Bush for about an hour. Among them were currency and exchange rates and the recent rash of safety recalls of China-made goods and tainted food.

But the Chinese President said the talks were 'candid and friendly'. He also indicated to Mr Bush that China would continue to reform its currency exchange system and 'let the market play an increasing role', the White House said.

Mr Bush declared after the meeting: 'He's an easy man to talk to. I'm very comfortable in my discussions with President Hu.'

He added that he had accepted an invitation to attend the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The move carries great symbolic significance, Mr Michael Green, an Asia expert and former Asia director at the National Security Council under Mr Bush, told The New York Times.

'For the Chinese, that's a public vote of confidence that President Hu and the Chinese people will undoubtedly appreciate,' he added.

Trade was another issue that divided Apec's developed and emerging nations, with both sides saying the other needed to make concessions to spur global talks on breaking down tariffs and other barriers to global commerce.

Mr Hu also called on developed members of the World Trade Organization to be more flexible in trade talks that had dragged on for the past six years. 'We must say no to trade protectionism, eliminate trade barriers and move the Doha Round negotiation towards a comprehensive and balanced outcome at an early date,' he said.

Apec ministers remained deadlocked last night over how to address the climate change issue in a common statement due to be issued at the end of the summit.

The position shared by the US and Australia is that the Kyoto treaty is deeply flawed, as it does not commit developing nations such as China and India to the same targets on cutting emissions as industrialised economies.

With the Kyoto treaty due to expire in 2012, they want a new framework to commit all sides to making cuts.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS AND AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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