Asian leaders sign energy security pact

CEBU – Asian leaders signed an energy security pact yesterday that seeks to reduce oil dependency and greenhouse gas emissions in some of the most polluted countries on the planet, but offers no concrete targets.

Southeast Asian leaders along with the heads of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand held their second East Asia summit in a more constructive atmosphere than last year as Beijing and Tokyo used the meeting to further mend ties. The 16 leaders urged North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons and respond to humanitarian concerns, including abductions of Japanese in previous decades.Japan had lobbied heavily for the summit to address the issue of the dozens of Japanese that North Korea abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.But President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told a concluding news conference the leaders stressed “we should coax North Korea, rather than use language of animosity”, on the issue.While Northeast Asian diplomacy was a feature of the summit, the meeting’s legacy is an energy security pact that seeks to reduce the region’s dependence on costly crude oil and help stave off climate change.Unlike the European Union, however, which last week unveiled ambitious energy proposals to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 per cent, the leaders offered no concrete targets.The pact calls for encouraging the use of biofuels, hydropower, or nuclear power to reduce dependence on conventional fuels and seeks private sector investment in energy infrastructure.Trade took a back seat, with China and ASEAN wary of creating yet another trade bloc in the region, officials said.Nampa-ReutersThe 16 leaders urged North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons and respond to humanitarian concerns, including abductions of Japanese in previous decades.Japan had lobbied heavily for the summit to address the issue of the dozens of Japanese that North Korea abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.But President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told a concluding news conference the leaders stressed “we should coax North Korea, rather than use language of animosity”, on the issue.While Northeast Asian diplomacy was a feature of the summit, the meeting’s legacy is an energy security pact that seeks to reduce the region’s dependence on costly crude oil and help stave off climate change.Unlike the European Union, however, which last week unveiled ambitious energy proposals to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 per cent, the leaders offered no concrete targets.The pact calls for encouraging the use of biofuels, hydropower, or nuclear power to reduce dependence on conventional fuels and seeks private sector investment in energy infrastructure.Trade took a back seat, with China and ASEAN wary of creating yet another trade bloc in the region, officials said.Nampa-Reuters