Australia and the US Climate Change and Energy

I am pleased to announce that I have agreed with President George W. Bush today on the importance of confronting the challenges of climate change and energy security.

This stems from our commitment to action on climate change that reduces greenhouse gas emissions in ways that enable all countries to grow their economies, reduce poverty and improve living standards. It also stems from a commitment to efficient and diversified energy supplies - including from zero and low emissions sources - in ways that ensure energy remains reliable, affordable and secure.

We have agreed Australia and the United States should strive for a post-2012 global accord on climate change providing for fair and equitable contributions by all major emitters, with an emphasis on practical actions. The APEC Leaders meeting this week and the US-sponsored major economies meeting at the end of the month are important milestones.

We are developing and deploying low emission technologies through the Asia-Pacific Partnership, a major initiative co-founded by Australia and the United States in 2006. There are now over 100 projects in clean fossil fuels, aluminum, coal mining, renewable energy, power generation, cement, buildings and appliances, and steel.

I announce today that Australia will participate in the FutureGen International Partnership, a major US-led international project to building a prototype plant that integrates coal gasification and carbon capture and storage to produce electricity with near-zero emissions. Our contribution will be $15 million.

I also announce Australia's intent to participate in the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), an international partnership working on fourth generation nuclear power plant technology, and the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), a US-led initiative to expand the safe and secure use of zero-emission nuclear energy.

President Bush and I have agreed to an action plan for Australia and the United States to cooperate bilaterally on civil nuclear energy, including research and development, regulatory issues, and skills and technical training.

Australia and the United States will also continue cooperation on various initiatives relating to energy and climate change, including renewable energy sources, carbon sequestration, energy efficiency, climate change science, and agriculture and forestry practices.

Our Joint Statement on Climate Change and Energy underscores the contribution Australia and the United States are making to addressing climate change and energy security.

Joint Statement on Climate Change and Energy - PDF 20KB
Joint Statement on Climate and Energy Background - PDF 40KB

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