SYDNEY APEC LEADERS' DECLARATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY
SECURITY AND CLEAN DEVELOPMENT
Sydney, Australia, 9 September 2007
We, the APEC Economic Leaders, agree that economic growth,
energy security and climate change are fundamental and interlinked challenges
for the APEC region.
The dynamism of APEC, underpinned by open trade and
investment, has reduced poverty, improved living standards and delivered
economic and social development.
Our success has relied in part on secure supplies of energy,
the use of which has also contributed to air quality problems and greenhouse gas
emissions.
A great challenge for APEC, given the aspirations of 41 per
cent of the world's population in our region, is to chart new pathways for clean
and sustainable development.
We are committed, through wide-ranging and ambitious actions,
to ensuring the energy needs of the economies of the region while addressing the
issue of environmental quality and contributing to the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions.
Future international action
We reaffirm our commitment to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Based on UNFCCC principles, we believe
the following must underpin an equitable and effective post-2012 international
climate change arrangement:
Comprehensiveness
We need concerted international action with all economies
contributing to shared global goals in ways that are equitable, and
environmentally and economically effective.
Respect for different domestic circumstances and capacities
The future international climate change arrangement needs to
reflect differences in economic and social conditions among economies and be
consistent with our common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities.
Flexibility
To ensure a comprehensive global effort, we support a
flexible arrangement that recognises diverse approaches, and supports practical
actions and international co-operation across a broad range of areas relevant to
climate change. We support domestic actions which make measurable contributions
to a shared global goal, and underline the importance of the effective operation
of market mechanisms.
The important role for low and zero emissions energy sources
and technologies
Fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in our
regional and global energy needs. Co-operation, including joint research,
development, deployment and transfer of low and zero emission technologies for
their cleaner use, particularly coal, will be essential. It is also important to
enhance energy efficiency and diversify energy sources and supplies, including
renewable energy. For those economies which choose to do so, the use of nuclear
energy, in a manner ensuring nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation in
particular its safeguards, can also contribute.
The importance of forests and land use
Sustainable forest management and land use practices play a
key role in the carbon cycle and need to be addressed in the post-2012
international climate change arrangement.
Promoting open trade and investment
The pursuit of climate change and energy security policies
must avoid introducing barriers to trade and investment. Open trade, investment
and environmental policies are crucial to disseminating low emissions products,
technologies and best practices.
Support for effective adaptation strategies
Adapting to climate change impacts is a priority for domestic
development strategies which should be supported by the international community,
including through appropriate policy exchanges, financing, capacity building and
technology transfer.
Support for a post-2012 international climate change
arrangement
We are committed to the global objective of stabilising
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous human interference with the climate system. The world needs to slow,
stop and then reverse the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions.
We, therefore, call for a post-2012 international climate
change arrangement, building on the above, that strengthens, broadens and
deepens the current arrangements and leads to reduced global emissions of
greenhouse gases.
APEC economies that are Parties to the UNFCCC agree to work
actively and constructively toward a comprehensive post-2012 arrangement at this
year's UNFCCC Conference of the Parties. We pledge our strong support for
Indonesia in its role as President of the Conference in Bali in December.
We agree to work to achieve a common understanding on a
long-term aspirational global emissions reduction goal to pave the way for an
effective post-2012 international arrangement. We appreciate the efforts of
Japan and Canada in proposing a long-term global goal.
We welcome the initiative by the United States to convene a
group of major economies to seek agreement on a detailed contribution to a
post-2012 global arrangement under the UNFCCC.
We pledge our support for the initiative of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations in convening a High-Level Event on
Climate Change.
We agree to work through bilateral, regional and global
partnerships to promote clean development, recognising that the UN climate
process is the appropriate multilateral forum for international negotiations on
climate change.
APEC Action Agenda
We announce a forward program of practical, co-operative
actions and initiatives in APEC which complement those actions being undertaken
by APEC economies in other fora. These initiatives are designed to support
economic growth and development and to further contribute to the reduction of
global greenhouse gas emissions in line with the objectives and principles of
the UNFCCC. The Action Agenda is attached. In summary, and without prejudice to
commitments in other fora, we have decided to:
-
highlight the importance of improving energy efficiency
by working towards achieving an APEC-wide regional aspirational goal of a
reduction in energy intensity of at least 25 per cent by 2030 (with 2005 as
the base year);
-
work to achieve an APEC-wide aspirational goal of
increasing forest cover in the region by at least 20 million hectares of all
types of forests by 2020 - a goal which if achieved would store
approximately 1.4 billion tonnes of carbon, equivalent to around 11 per cent
of annual global emissions (in 2004);
-
establish an Asia-Pacific Network for Energy Technology (APNet)
to strengthen collaboration on energy research in our region particularly in
areas such as clean fossil energy and renewable energy sources;
-
establish an Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable
Forest Management and Rehabilitation to enhance capacity building and
strengthen information sharing in the forestry sector; and
-
further measures in trade in environmental goods and
services, aviation transport, alternative and low carbon energy uses, energy
security, the protection of marine biological resources, policy analysis
capabilities and a co-benefit approach.
Conclusion
The APEC region has a major stake in global responses to the
challenges of climate change, energy security and clean development. Economic
growth and technology development are indispensable elements of our future
agreed approach. The scale of these challenges demands new and innovative forms
of international co-operation.
We, the APEC Leaders, reaffirm our commitment to work with
all members of the international community for an enduring global solution to
climate change.
Annex
Action Agenda
The following co-operative APEC actions and initiatives on
climate change, energy security and clean development represent a further
contribution to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions in line with
the objectives and principles of the UNFCCC. In implementing this Action Agenda,
joint research, development, deployment and transfer of technologies will be
important.
Energy efficiency
Improving energy efficiency is a cost-effective way to
enhance energy security and address greenhouse gas emissions while promoting
economic growth and development. Without prejudice to commitments in other fora,
we therefore:
-
agree to work towards achieving an APEC-wide regional
aspirational goal of a reduction in energy intensity of at least 25 per cent
by 2030 (with 2005 as the base year).
-
encourage all APEC economies to set individual goals and
action plans for improving energy efficiency, taking into account this
aspirational goal, and reflecting the individual circumstances of different
economies.
-
agree to facilitate and review progress through the
voluntary APEC Energy Peer Review Mechanism, as established by APEC Energy
Ministers in May 2007, with a report back to APEC Leaders in 2010.
Forests
Forests can play a critical role in the carbon cycle. Ongoing
action is required to encourage afforestation and reforestation and to reduce
deforestation, forest degradation and forest fires, including by promoting
sustainable forest management, combating illegal logging and addressing the
underlying economic and social drivers. We therefore:
-
agree to work to achieve a regional aspirational goal of
increasing forest cover in the APEC region by at least 20 million hectares
of all types of forests by 2020.
-
welcome the Global Initiative on Forests and Climate
launched in Sydney in July 2007.
-
welcome the development of other instruments which may
include continued work on a Legally Binding Instrument on Sustainable Forest
Management for those economies interested in pursuing this option.
-
agree to establish the Asia-Pacific Network for
Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation to enhance capacity
building and strengthen information sharing in the forestry sector.
Collaboration between all regional initiatives on forests, including the
Asia Forest Partnership, will be important.
-
co-ordinate with relevant international institutions to
develop forest program partnerships, including the proposed World Bank
forest carbon partnership facility.
Low emissions technology and innovation
Joint research, development, deployment and transfer of low
and zero emission technologies will be crucial in our shared efforts to address
climate change. We therefore:
Alternative and low carbon energy usesEnhanced uptake
of low carbon energy uses will require coherent policy and regulatory settings.
We therefore:
-
agree to promote policies that advance the deployment of
low and zero emission energy uses, in particular in the field of clean coal
use and carbon capture and storage, through co-operative work in the APEC
Energy Working Group.
-
support the development of criteria for performance-based
biodiesel standards for the region through the work of the APEC Biofuels
Task Force.
-
welcome work underway in international partnerships
involving a wide range of economies, including on methane, hydrogen,
renewable energies and carbon sequestration, and the Asia Pacific
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which are advancing key new
clean technologies.
Energy security
We underline the importance to the region of affordable and
secure supplies of energy which are central to economic growth and sustainable
development, and we are committed to continuing efforts within APEC to address
long-term energy needs in the region.
Trade in environmental goods and services
An open global trade and investment system is central to our
clean development objectives and market opening in the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) would advance our climate and energy security goals. We therefore:
Civil aviation transport
We see scope for co-operative action to address the issue of
aviation emissions. We therefore:
-
agree that any future global action to address the
climate-related impact of aviation emissions needs to reflect the interests
of all economies, including the views of all APEC economies while noting the
leading role of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in
developing a balanced approach to aviation emissions based on mutual consent
and relevant international legal instruments.
-
endorse the public-private sector work in APEC, launched
by APEC Transportation Ministers in March 2007, to promote practical
co-operative measures that address greenhouse gas emissions from this
sector.
-
agree to convene a second public-private sector APEC
Strategic Seminar on Measures to Address Aviation Emissions in early 2008 to
advance work in key areas such as air traffic management systems, aircraft
design and alternative fuels.
Policy analysis capability
Improved dialogue and policy and technical co-operation is
valuable in underpinning our efforts. We therefore:
-
endorse the value of exchanging views on effective and
coherent policy instruments for promoting energy efficiency and addressing
greenhouse gas emissions.
-
agree to enhance co-operation between regional economic
modelling and related bodies to share views and expertise on approaches to
assessing the economic implications of climate change policies, including
measures aimed at adapting economies and societies to the impacts of climate
change.
Marine and coastal resources
Sustainable marine and coastal resources are an integral part
of the carbon cycle. We therefore:
Promoting a co-benefit approach
We support an approach to addressing global environmental
challenges that simultaneously promotes sustainable development.
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