Australia and China to cooperate on building low-carbon economies

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, has announced increased collaboration between Australia and China on climate change.

This followed the conclusion of the third Australia-China Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Change between Combet and China’s National Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman, Xie Zhenhua, in Canberra.

“The central theme of our discussions was how we can drive the development of our economies as the world moves to a low-carbon future,” Combet said.

“I was particularly interested to hear from Vice Chairman Xie about the priority China is giving to low-carbon energy, energy efficiency and clean technology under the latest five-year plan,” he said.

Under a pilot program, a number of Chinese provinces and cities will develop low-carbon plans including the use of market mechanisms to achieve emissions reductions.

“To assist this, we agreed today to intensify cooperation in developing low carbon cities, and to share experience on market mechanisms, including emissions trading and a carbon price,” Combet said.

“Both countries also agreed to continue cooperation on carbon pollution measurement and reporting, as well as strengthen energy-efficiency collaboration.

“We also exchanged views on the outlook for UN climate change negotiations. China, as the world’s largest emitter, is a key player in these negotiations,” Combet said. “I highlighted Australia’s focus this year is on implementing the agreements reached at Cancun last December.”

Combet said Australia was working towards an environmentally effective global agreement that included strong action on reducing carbon pollution by all major economies.