Big polluters back APEC carbon goals

By Cameron Stewart

September 10, 2007 12:15am

AUSTRALIA will try to kickstart global negotiations on a post-Kyoto climate change accord after securing what John Howard hailed as a historic commitment from the world's major polluters, including the US and China, to accept the need for goals to cut carbon emissions.

This means the UN conference on climate change in Bali in December will be the first major test of whether the Sydney Declaration - in which all APEC nations agreed on the need to set aspirational goals for emission reductions - can succeed in fuelling global momentum towards more concrete targets.

The Prime Minister yesterday claimed the outcome of the APEC meeting and the Sydney Declaration, finalised after weekend meetings between the 21 APEC leaders, had exceeded his expectations.

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