APEC Tackles Security After Climate Compromise
Date: 10-Sep-07
Country: AUSTRALIA
Author: Jalil Hamid
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said leaders
of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum
would turn to "human security" issues at their retreat in
Sydney Opera House, including terrorism, food safety and
pandemics.
Pacific Rim leaders, including US President George W.
Bush, China's President Hu Jintao and Russia's Vladimir Putin
adopted the "Sydney Declaration" on Saturday, calling on
members to set voluntary, non-binding targets to cut emissions,
while increasing energy efficiency and forests.
Proponents say the declaration creates consensus on the
thorny climate change issue and will carry weight at a series
of meetings in Washington, New York and Bali about replacing
the Kyoto Protocol, due to expire in 2012.
But green groups were dismissive.
"The Sydney Declaration is really just a Sydney distraction
from real action on climate change," Greenpeace energy
campaigner Catherine Fitzpatrick said.
The declaration was seen as a compromise between rich and
poor APEC economies, which together account for about 60
percent of the world's economy.
FOOD SAFETY TASKFORCE
Earlier this week, APEC ministers agreed to set up a food
safety taskforce, chaired by China and Australia, to ensure the
health and safety of the region's population.
The action was not aimed at China, which has been grappling
with a series of product recalls in a number of countries,
ranging from toys to toothpaste, APEC host Australia said.
APEC trade and foreign ministers issued a statement on
Thursday saying they recognised the need to improve food safety
to ensure "the health and safety of our populations".
The ministers' statement, which is usually adopted by their
leaders at the end of their summit, also said terrorism
remained "a persistent, evolving and long-term threat to our
prosperity and the security of our people".
A study in Singapore found the impact on APEC economies
from a major terrorist attack would be US$137 billion in lost GDP
and US$159 billion in reduced trade.
Other threats to regional economic growth included natural
disasters, food supply contamination and pandemics, such as
bird flu, they said, approving a disaster recovery programme.
The leaders are also expected to issue a separate statement
calling for a conclusion to world trade talks that have dragged
on for six years.
US President George W. Bush during the APEC meetings
called for more flexibility in global trade talks, saying the
Doha round of talks in Geneva was a "once-in-a-generation
opportunity".
APEC's 21-member economies account for half of global
trade.
Trade negotiators may be edging closer to a deal on the
most divisive issues in the Doha talks, WTO Director-General
Pascal Lamy said in a television interview on Saturday.
"There is a strong sense that it's make-or-break moment. It
may take a few weeks, but my sense is that there is a lot of
focus and energy," Lamy told CNBC in a taped interview.
(Additional reporting by Michael Perry and John Ruwitch)
