China and Australia issued a statement in Sydney Thursday,
pledging to work together to address climate change and energy
issues in ways consistent with each other's economic growth
aspirations.
In the statement, the two countries expressed their satisfaction
with bilateral cooperation on climate change and energy issues,
particularly in the areas of coal mine methane recovery, energy
efficiency, climate change science and agriculture.
China and Australia also attach importance to the role nuclear
power, with suitable safeguards, can play in coping with climate
change, noting that recent agreements between the two governments
will enhance bilateral substantive cooperation, the statement
said.
Both countries reaffirm their commitment to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and its objectives and
principles and agree to enhance their dialogue and cooperation
within the framework of the pact, it added.
In the statement, China and Australia also reaffirmed their
commitment to the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and
Climate, lauded the progress made since the partnership was
established in Sydney in January 2006, and pledged to continue to
facilitate relevant cooperation projects.
The two countries also vowed to promote the development,
deployment and transfer of improved and cost-effective
low-emissions technology under frameworks of regional and
multilateral partnerships.
In addition, they committed themselves to advancing the APEC
Energy Working Group agenda in key areas such as achieving energy
security, promoting energy efficiency, expanding energy investment
and facilitating trade.
The two countries further agreed to strengthen cooperation on
sustainable forestry management in the face of climate change,
particularly through the UNFCCC and under the Global Initiative on
Forests and Climate.
Over the matter of forestry management, Australia said that it
supports China's proposal for setting up an Asia-Pacific Network
for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation, saying it has
the potential to make a valuable contribution to the regional
efforts to achieve sustainable forestry management and curb climate
change.
The two countries welcomed the establishment of the Joint
Coordination Group on Clean Coal Technology, believing it will
enhance bilateral cooperation and make a major contribution to
improving the economic and environmental performance of coal use
globally. They promised to strengthen the important role of the
Joint Coordination Group under which a series of projects will be
undertaken.
The statement also mentioned a number of other projects that are
under development in areas such as skills training to assess the
geological storage potential for CO2, enhanced coal bed methane
trials and solar thermal energy technology.
Both countries also welcomed the joint research under the
China-Australia Special Fund for Scientific and Technological
Cooperation, notably in the areas of air quality, climate change
and renewable energy sources, and agreed to continue cooperation on
coalmine safety.
(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2007)
