Six of the world's biggest polluters have gathered in Sydney, Australia, to develop a fund for cleaner energy technology development. However the six acknowledged that their economies will be underpinned by fossil fuels for many years to come.
The Sydney meeting was hosted by Australia and was attended by the US, China, Japan, India and South Korea. The communique drafted at the end of the two day session did not set any specific targets for reducing carbon emissions, but pledged that businesses in each country must aim to curb harmful pollution as far as possible without threatening their ability to meet surging demand.
A report by Reuters suggested that Australia will commit some $75 billion to the project, while the US energy secretary said that he will be asking for $52 billion from the federal budget to invest in green fuel development.
Our energy needs are growing rapidly, and will necessitate large-scale investments in the coming decades. We recognized that renewable energy and nuclear power will represent an increasing share of global energy supply. We recognized that fossil fuels underpin our economies, and will be an enduring reality for our lifetimes and beyond.
It is therefore critical that we work together to develop, demonstrate and implement cleaner and lower emissions technologies that allow for the continued economic use of fossil fuels while addressing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the group’s communique said.
The environmental lobby condemned the move as a ‘sham’, Basically, they haven’t agreed to do anything in terms of serious commitment, Monash University climate change expert Professor Amanda Lynch told Reuters.
However, Australian prime minister John Howard defended the idea by suggesting that finite targets were not the best way of solving the climate change issue. Experience has taught us that seeking arbitrary targets doesn’t result in achieving practical solutions to global climate change, he said.