Commentary by Eric Wilder – Six of the world’s largest industrial powers announced a meeting to be held in Australia this week to discuss ways to curb greenhouse emissions without sacrificing economic growth.  The partnership of Japan, China, India, United States, South Korea and Australia is being called the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate.

The partnership is drawing criticism from some sectors that say it is only an attempt to circumvent the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases.  Proponents of the new partnership say it isn’t meant to rival Kyoto, only complement it.

The six members comprise 45 % of the world’s population, burn 48 % of the world’s energy and are responsible for the emission of 48 % of the world’s greenhouse gases, according to data released by the new partnership.  The U.S. and Australia say that developing cleaner technology for curbing emissions is a better and likely more effective idea than simply setting target goals for reduction.

With abrupt climate changes occurring before our eyes, rhetoric is no longer an option and immediate action is needed.  I see the new partnership as a positive step because any dialogue concerning the grave situation is better than no diagogue at all.

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