[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[April 27, 2007]
[Pages 495-496]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Joint Statement by the United States of America and Japan on Energy 
Security, Clean Development, and Climate Change
April 27, 2007

    President Bush and Prime Minister Abe agreed 
today that confronting the interlinked challenges of energy security, 
clean development, and climate change requires sustained and effective 
global action. The United States and Japan are working to ensure that 
the energy on which our economies depend remains reliable, affordable, 
and secure by encouraging efficiency, diversity of supply, and advances 
in technology. At the same time our nations are making meaningful 
progress in addressing air pollution and greenhouse gases from our power 
and transportation systems. We remain committed to the ultimate 
objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere 
at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with 
the climate system, and will further explore the steps forward to this 
objective.
    The United States and Japan are also advancing the clean energy 
technology needed to change for the better the way we power our homes, 
businesses, and automobiles. We are accelerating the development and 
deployment of these technologies by providing policy incentives to 
reduce the cost barriers to their full commercialization. We especially 
note the importance of advancing: energy efficiency and renewable 
energy, alternative and renewable fuels, hydrogen, near-zero emissions 
coal, nuclear energy, and fusion energy. We will work together to 
advance our nationally- defined objectives in these areas, taking 
advantage of a wide range of policy tools and measures including 
mandatory programs, incentives, and public-private technology 
partnerships. We will conduct a joint quantitative study on the 
economic, technological, and climate benefits of energy efficiency, in 
recognition of the trend toward national energy efficiency goals and 
programs throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
    The United States and Japan will work constructively with our 
international partners, in particular the major energy consuming 
nations, to promote the commercialization of advanced clean energy 
technologies. In this regard, we will also use the G8, the UNFCCC, the 
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, the 
International Energy Agency, APEC, the Commission of Sustainable 
Development, and other multilateral partnerships. We reaffirm the goals 
of the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R) Initiative set at the G8 Summit at 
Sea Island in 2004. This includes the reduction of barriers to the 
international flow of goods and materials for recycling and 
remanufacturing, recycled and remanufactured products, and cleaner, more 
efficient technologies, consistent with existing environmental and trade 
obligations and frameworks. We also note that a report on the Gleneagles 
Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development 
will be received at the G8 summit meeting to be hosted by Japan in 2008.
    We will also endeavor under the Montreal Protocol to ensure the 
recovery of the ozone layer to pre-1980 levels by accelerating the 
phase-out of HCFCs in a way that supports energy efficiency and climate 
change objectives. We will continue to exercise leadership in the 
development of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

[[Page 496]]

    The United States and Japan recognize the value of our bilateral 
High-Level Consultations on Climate Change and will enhance, strengthen, 
and streamline that dialog. The United States will send a delegation of 
senior-level officials to Japan before the G8 Summit in June to discuss 
further implementation of this statement.

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this joint statement.