Prime Minister John Howard will host ministers from the United States, China, India, Japan and South Korea at the first Asia Pacific Clean Development and Climate meeting in Sydney on Wednesday and Thursday.

Australia and the US are the only two developed countries refusing to ratify the 1997 Kyoto accord, which demands a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Scientists predict the greenhouse effect, in which gases such as those emitted by burning coal and oil trap heat in the atmosphere, will increase the frequency of droughts, flooding and storms, and threaten agriculture.

The initiative calls for the use of new technologies to cut back on emissions but does not set enforcement standards or a specific timeframe.

The countries involved say it will complement the Kyoto protocol rather than undermine it, but critics charge it is a smokescreen for some of the world's biggest energy producers and polluters.

Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell said the six countries had been working towards developing breakthrough technologies that could potentially reduce harmful carbon emissions.

But he warned against expectations of a quick solution to the problem.

"We have to understand this is the first cabinet-level meeting of these six nations. I don't think anyone's going to expect some silver bullet to emerge from one meeting," he told ABC radio.

"The outcome has got to be to establish a new level of cooperation, an unprecedented level of cooperation between these six important countries.

"But I think ultimately the test of the success of this partnership will be over a number of years and will ultimately be whether or not we can save the climate."

The meeting will have a heavy industry presence with representatives from companies such as mining giant Rio Tinto and oil group Exxon Mobil expected to attend.

Campbell said the focus of the talks would not be on moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.

"I think renewables have a very big part to play," he said. "But so do a range of other technologies. I believe that the partnership, in fact I think the world, needs to be technology-neutral.

"We need to go for the best technology that'll deliver the best climate change result for the best economic outcome."

It is not yet clear which technologies are being considered by the partnership and how much money governments will commit to the process.

Environmentalists, who have not been invited to the meeting and plan to protest outside, say the talks are diverting attention away from renewable energy sources in favour of technologies which do not yet exist.

"The so-called Asia-Pacific Partnership is essentially a coal pact that allows Australia to continue to do next to nothing to stop climate change," Nature Conservation Council director Cate Faehrmann said.

Australian National University professor Warwick McKibbin said governments should focus on creating a price for carbon emissions and letting the market respond to it rather than creating new technologies.

"What's good about the Sydney meeting is that it's actually separating 'Do you take action' from 'Do you ratify Kyoto,'" McKibbin told AFP.

"The second good thing is that it brings in the key countries."

However, the group should be expanded to include Europe, along with potential major polluters Brazil and Indonesia, he said.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express