    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 36 (Monday, September 10, 2007)]
    [Pages 1175-1177]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister John
    Howard of Australia on Climate Change and Energy

    September 5, 2007

        1. Prime Minister Howard and President Bush agreed today on the
    importance of confronting the interlinked challenges of climate change,
    energy security and clean development.
        2. Australia and the United States are committed to working together
    to find effective solutions. They are working to ensure that the energy
    on which both economies depend remains reliable, affordable and secure
    by

    [[Page 1176]]

    promoting efficiency and diversification of supply.
        3. Australia and the United States have consistently championed the
    importance of practical action. The key to comprehensive global action
    on climate change is to ensure that measures to reduce emissions are
    consistent with economic growth, poverty alleviation and improvements in
    living standards.
        4. Australia and the United States look forward to working actively
    and constructively with all countries at the UN Climate Change
    Conference in Indonesia in December, with a view to achieve a post-2012
    agreement that provides for effective action from all the major emitting
    nations toward the UNFCCC objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas
    concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
    anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The APEC Leaders'
    Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Sustainable
    Development will be a significant step forward in efforts to forge a new
    international framework.
        5. Australia welcomed the initiative by the United States to launch
    a series of meetings on future global action on climate change and looks
    forward to participating in the first Major Economies Meeting on Energy
    Security and Climate Change in Washington DC on 27-28 September 2007.
    Both countries believe this process will make a major contribution to
    the negotiation of a post-2012 framework.
        6. Both countries highlighted that a key objective of the Major
    Economies Meeting would be to work toward a consensus on a long-term
    global goal for reducing emissions. Such a goal will provide a basis for
    accelerated and concerted action at the national and international level
    over the coming years. It underlines the importance of viewing action on
    climate change with a long-term perspective.
        7. Together with appropriate policy tools, the development and
    deployment of low emission technologies will be a key element in
    addressing the climate change challenge in the medium- to longer-term.
    The Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate is a major
    initiative that was co-founded by Australia and the United States to
    drive technology cooperation. Working together, the six members--
    Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United
    States--have made substantial progress since the establishment of the
    Partnership in Sydney in January 2006. The Partnership has initiated
    more than 100 practical projects in the areas of clean fossil energy,
    aluminum, coal mining, renewable energy, power generation, cement,
    buildings and appliances, and steel.
        8. Both countries agree that reducing emissions from deforestation
    is a key component of global action on climate change. The United States
    welcomed Australia's action in launching the Global Initiative on
    Forests and Climate, announced by Prime Minister Howard in March 2007,
    and was pleased to participate in the recent High-Level Meeting in
    Sydney of 63 countries to take forward cooperation under the Initiative.
        9. We also agreed to support multilateral action to liberalize trade
    in environmental goods and services.
        10. Australia expressed its interest in participating in the
    Generation IV International Forum (GIF), which is a partnership of
    governments working on fourth generation nuclear power plant technology.
    The GIF reflects the common interest that many countries share in
    advanced research and development in this field. The United States
    expressed its support for Australian membership in the GIF.
        11. In acknowledgment of the important contribution nuclear power
    can make in meeting energy needs and addressing the challenge of climate
    change, Australia and the United States agree on enhancing bilateral
    civilian nuclear cooperation and supporting the Global Nuclear Energy
    Partnership (GNEP). GNEP is a multilateral initiative the United States
    launched to expand the safe and secure use of zero-carbon emission
    nuclear energy worldwide. The United States welcomes Australia's
    participation in the Ministerial GNEP meeting to be held later this
    month in Vienna, Austria. The two countries also finalised a joint
    action plan for civil nuclear energy cooperation, including on research
    and development, regulatory issues, and skills and technical training.

    [[Page 1177]]

        12. Australia and the United States will continue to work closely to
    advance energy security and climate change issues internationally
    through other multilateral partnerships, including the Carbon
    Sequestration Leadership Forum, the Methane to Markets Partnership, the
    Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership and the International
    Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy.
        13. Important work has also been accomplished bilaterally under the
    auspices of the Australia-United States Climate Action Partnership and
    both countries are committed to further action. Progress has been made
    in the areas of climate change science and monitoring, agriculture and
    forestry, approaches to managing High Global Warming Potential Gases
    (synthetic greenhouse gases) and policy tools and approaches to
    addressing climate change.
        14. 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).
        15. The recently-concluded Australia-United States Agreement
    relating to Scientific and Technical Cooperation will promote
    collaboration between scientists in both countries on world-leading
    research and technology development, including in the area of climate
    change.
        16. In recognition of the importance of global action on climate
    change and energy, the United States welcomes Australia's participation
    in the FutureGen International Partnership, a major United States-led
    international project aimed at building a prototype plant that
    integrates coal gasification and carbon capture and storage to produce
    electricity with near-zero emissions. This demonstrates and underscores
    the commitment of both countries to the development and deployment of
    clean coal technologies.

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