“The future prosperity of the APEC region relies on securing energy supplies, and on clean and efficient energy production and use,” Australian Minister for Industry and Resources Ian Macfarlane said.
Key outcomes included an agreement to improve energy efficiency through a range of measures, including the establishment of an Energy Investment and Trade Study and Roundtable, and an APEC Energy Peer Review Mechanism to improve the operations of energy markets.
While the declaration encourages APEC economies to set individual goals for improving energy efficiency, these goals would be purely voluntary.
New Zealand called for a “price signal” for carbon in the market to facilitate investment decisions that led to cleaner energy, but Macfarlane said New Zealand was the only member country to express a “strong” view on emissions and the ministers had “no specific discussions” on emissions trading.
“The voluntary Peer Review will focus on assisting APEC economies to increase their energy efficiency and reduce their dependence on oil,” Macfarlane said.
“This will support the twin objectives of energy security and environmental sustainability and highlights the fact that while energy is paramount to APEC, environmental sustainability is also a key concern of member economies.”
The declaration called for improved oil data sharing and cooperation with other international energy organisations, as well as emergency preparedness to ensure APEC economies managed the consequences of short-term supply disruptions.
It also aims to develop best practice towards energy-efficient transportation, intensifying efforts to develop and deploy techniques for the cost-effective use of non-food feedstock and encouraged international collaboration on alternative fuels.
Macfarlane said the Darwin Declaration would help drive further policy decisions in APEC countries.
“The decisions and deliberations we have had, particularly in relation to clean development and climate, will be an integral part of broader considerations undertaken by APEC leaders when they meet in Sydney in September 2007,” he said.
