06/05/2006 - Minister
for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian
Campbell, will lead an Australian delegation to
the 14th session of the Commission for Sustainable
Development (CSD14) in New York next week.
The key themes for CSD14 are
energy for sustainable development, climate change,
air pollution/atmosphere and industrial development.
Senator Campbell will report
on Australia’s achievements and share relevant
Australian expertise with other countries.
“Providing access to low cost,
reliable and cleaner energy technologies is an
essential part of helping countries achieve sustainable
development and Australia has a lot to offer in
this area,” Senator Campbell said.
“The Australian Government’s
investment in energy efficiency initiatives, cleaner
energy technologies and remote power generation
has given us a lot of know-how that we can share
with other countries – particularly our Pacific
Island neighbours.
“One example is Australia’s Bushlight Programme,
which provides remote indigenous communities with
reliable renewable energy, reducing their diesel
consumption and saving up to 20 tonnes of greenhouse
gas in each community each year. So far, renewable
energy plans have been discussed with more than
450 remote communities and more than 90 systems
have already been installed.”
Whales
Senator Ian Campbell will hold
last minute discussions with nations that have
been working closely with Australia to shore up
support for Australia’s strong anti-whaling stance
at the upcoming IWC.
“A growing number of IWC member countries support
the push for a return to commercial whaling and,
as next month’s IWC meeting in the Caribbean draws
closer, we cannot afford to slacken our efforts
now,” Senator Campbell said.
“I am concerned that reports
of aggressive recruiting by pro-whaling nations
of developing countries in the lead up to the
IWC may lose the pro-whale conservation majority
that Australia achieved in Korea last year.
“I will use meetings at the
UN to seek to strengthen or save our whales global
network.”
There has been a moratorium on commercial whaling
since 1986 and we will make every effort to ensure
it continues.
“Australia will also be doing
all it can to muster support for a global ban
on the killing of whales for ‘scientific’ purposes
and will take every opportunity to further the
message that killing whales is totally unnecessary.
All the information we need from whales can be
done perfectly well by non-lethal methods.”
While there has been an encouraging recovery of
whale numbers in the world’s oceans, whale populations
remain at risk. “The so-called Japanese ‘scientific’
whaling programme in the Southern Ocean this season
killed 853 minke whales and 10 fin whales. From
2007-08 it plans to kill 50 fins and 50 humpbacks,
at the same time continuing to kill 935 minke
whales,” Senator Campbell said.
“Australia will continue to urge Japan, Norway
and Iceland to end their whaling activities.”
The International Whaling Commission meets in
St Kitts and Nevis from 16-20 June, 2006.
Climate Change
Senator Campbell will also participate
in a number of high level discussions and bi-lateral
meetings progressing the work of the Asia-Pacific
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (AP6)
with a number of countries expressing an interest
in the work of the AP6 and Australia’s role in
it.
In response to interest about
the AP6, Senator Campbell noted that eight industry-government
taskforces established under the AP6 made a strong
start to their work when they met in Berkeley
in the United States from 18-21 April.
More than 300 high-level industry
representatives and government officials from
across all partner countries – China, India, Japan,
Korea, the United States and Australia – worked
together to start developing detailed technology-focused
action plans on renewable energy, clean fossil
energy, aluminium, cement, steel, power generation,
coal mining, and buildings and appliances.
A strong contingent of Australian
business representatives participated in the work
– including the chief executives of Pacific Hydro,
Loy Yang Power, Solar Systems and CS Energy, plus
senior managers from major companies including
BHP, Hydro Tasmania, Lend Lease, BlueScope Steel,
the Bayard Group and Cement Australia.
“Many countries are recognising
the need for a multi-track approach, including
the need to focus on the development and deployment
of technology as a complement to further work
through the United Nations, the G8 and bilateral
partnerships,” Senator Campbell said.
“Achieving the goal of sustainable
development is a critical task for developed and
developing countries alike.
“The old mindset of choosing between development
and sustainability is being replaced as new technologies,
knowledge and experiences are showing we can now
have the best of both worlds.
“In Australia for example, industry
leaders such as BP have become involved in the
Government’s Greenhouse FriendlyTM programme,
proving that environmental wins are compatible
with business profit. In just five years, the
BP Global ChoiceTM programme has achieved 1 million
tonnes of greenhouse gas abatement.
“Economic development, business
growth and being environmentally responsible are
not mutually exclusive,” he said.
This is the 14th meeting of the world’s environment
ministers, meeting under the auspices of the United
Nations Commission for Sustainable Development
established by the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
