The first meeting of a controversial alliance promoting economic growth and low carbon emissions opened last month in Sydney. The breakaway Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, seen by many as a rival to the Kyoto Protocol, aims to develop and promote technologies such as clean coal, nuclear and renewables. The partnership was agreed back in July and involves the US, Australia, China, Japan, India and South Korea. It will examine how to develop these technologies in order to reduce greenhouse gases rather than setting specific targets. However, environmental groups believe that without any binding agreements this voluntary approach will achieve very little and will simply undermine Kyoto. Of the countries taking part in the discussions, only Japan have agreed to the targets set at Kyoto and neither the US or Australia are signatories.
In other climate change news, a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) report has highlighted that the UK's air quality and pollution levels are continuing to improve. This means we are well on course to meet our emission targets set under Kyoto of a 12.5% reduction between 2008 and 2012. Emissions of the six greenhouse gases actually fell by 14.6% between the base year and 2004. However, in many areas of the UK nitrogen oxide, particle and ozone targets were not met, particularly around major urban centres and busy roads.
