(Photo; AP Images / Rick Stevens, Pool)Leaders attend the APEC economic leaders retreat in Sydney, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007. Leaders of Asia-Pacific nations representing nearly half the world's trade gathered in Sydney for a summit taking place under the tightest security cloak in Australian history.
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Fifty Australian Christian leaders urged those at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to address the “moral challenge” of climate change.
In a letter to the APEC heads, a panel from the Christian anti-poverty group Micah Challenge Australia pressed the Pacific Rim leaders to discuss how to cut greenhouse gas emission.
“Our warming world can no longer afford to pay the price of our carbon-intensive industries, economies and lifestyles,” wrote Micah Challenge.
“We ask you to focus your discussions on the need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance international cooperation through the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.”
Leaders from the 21 Pacific Rim economies have been meeting in Sydney throughout this week ahead of this weekend’s APEC Economic Leaders Meeting. The Sept. 8-9 summit will address global issues such as economic cooperation, trade, security, terrorism, and global warming.
Together, the countries represent about 41 percent of the world’s population with the world’s top three polluters present – the United States, China, and Russia.
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On Friday, the Asia and Pacific nations responded to the climate change issue after much-anticipating and pressure from green groups and concerned citizens.
For the first time China and the United States accepted global goals to reduce emissions in a draft statement to be approved at the APEC summit on Saturday.
The declaration reaffirmed the U.N. climate convention as the primary way to fight global warming, and encouraged non-binding targets for greenhouse gas reductions, according to Reuters.
However, critics have said real goals and targets are needed rather than aspirational goals. They argue that failure to approve binding greenhouse gas reduction targets will not lead to improvements.
The agreement, however, will help steer the international community towards drawing up a new climate change pact at the U.N. climate conventions’ annual summit in Bali, Indonesia, in December.
Christian leaders in their letter to APEC leaders encouraged developed countries to share technology and resources to help developing countries pursue clean development plans and adapt to the effects of climate change. They highlighted that the world’s poor and vulnerable are the first to be affected by climate change.
“Developed countries must take swift and significant action to reduce emissions,” urged Micah Challenge.
The 21 APEC groups include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China and its Hong Kong territory, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
