August 5, 2005—President Bush has announced that the US has joined with Australia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea to create a new Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development.
According to the White House, the partnership will focus on voluntary practical measures taken by these six countries to create new investment opportunities, build local capacity, and remove barriers to the introduction of clean, more efficient technologies.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman will meet with their international counterparts this fall to carry the new partnership forward.
A White House fact sheet notes that an increase in greenhouse gases caused by human activity is warming the surface of the Earth, and suggests the key to addressing this climate challenge is to develop and deploy cleaner, more efficient technologies.
Among the energy technologies specifically mentioned in the fact sheet are energy efficiency, methane capture and use, biomass energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, wind power, solar power, and energy systems for villages and rural areas. To see the White House fact sheet, visit the White House Web site.
