U.S. – Australia Relations

U.S. Delegation Arrives in Australia for Climate Ministerial

Washington, D.C. — 11 January 200

(Energy secretary says public-private cooperation can secure energy future) (310)

Washington -- A delegation of U.S. government officials led by Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman arrived in Sydney, Australia, January 11 for a two-day visit that includes the inaugural meeting of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP).

The APP initiative brings together governments and private sector entities of six nations -- Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States -- to promote economic growth, increase energy security and reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. (See related article).

In addition to Bodman, the U.S. delegation includes James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Paula Dobriansky, the under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs.

Bodman and Australian Minister of Industry, Resources and Tourism Ian MacFarlane hosted a "Business Dialogue" among government ministers and corporate executives from the six APP countries, according to a January 11 press release from the Energy Department. The participants discussed development and deployment of clean energy technologies, opportunities for international cooperation and ways in which governments can improve the investment climate for such collaboration.

"The governments and private sectors of the APP countries have the historic opportunity to leverage the ingenuity of the private sector, the power of markets, and the strength of the public sector to achieve a more secure energy future, a cleaner environment, and greater prosperity in our own countries and around the world," Bodman said.

In an interview in Sydney, Dobriansky said the United States will announce plans January 12 to contribute funds for the APP initiative to promote the development of new technologies that will reduce emissions of pollutants from APP priority industries, including power generation, production of aluminum, steel and cement and mining.

For additional information, see a related fact sheet.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Original document from Washington Hyperfile [EPF304].

Last update: Monday, 19 November 2007 GMT+1000