Chair of the APEC Transport Ministers meeting and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Hon. Mark Vaile, revealed that the 21 APEC economies, which represent more than a third of the…
Chair of the APEC Transport Ministers meeting and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Hon. Mark Vaile, revealed that the 21 APEC economies, which represent more than a third of the world’s population, have agreed to work cooperatively on practical measures to reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr. Vaile said, in summing up the outcomes of the conference, that he was delighted that the APEC economies have taken this important step in combating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change.
The commitment from the APEC economies, is a major step forward in adopting a global approach to climate change and Australia will do all it can to help support practical and realistic initiatives that meet the environmental challenges of the future.
Australia announced a range of measures to reduce aviation greenhouse emissions including improving fuel efficiency through more flexible flight tracks, improving aircraft air traffic control sequencing to reduce fuel burn/emissions, more efficient runway use and continuous descent approaches which minimise speed changes. These measures will reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions by hundreds of thousands of tonnes, Mr. Vaile said.
BIOFUELS
The 21 APEC economies also agreed to continue to actively work at increasing the take up of biofuels as a means of dealing with emissions in their land transport industries and agreed on further work to progress this initiative.
TRANSPORT SECURITY
On transport security, the APEC Ministers agreed on a range of specific commitments to strengthen transport security across the Asia-Pacific region.
Ministers noted the particular challenges for commerce and passengers of the new restrictions on liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGS) in airline passengers’ carry-on baggage. The meeting agreed that economies would work together to harmonise security arrangements, including the LAGS measures, to balance effective security with efficient commerce and trade.
ROAD SAFETY
There was unanimous agreement to the development of proactive road safety strategies in all APEC member economies. Ministers agreed to set targets for casualty reductions and to report regularly to APEC on progress.
The meeting noted that APEC low and middle income economies bear a large portion of the world-wide 1.2 million road deaths each year.
Ministers agreed on the common features of the strategies – ensuring that they are comprehensive and effective.
TRADE LIBERALISATION
Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to trade liberalisation with a strong focus on facilitation, recognising the importance of transport to free trade. The meeting also reaffirmed that transport is essential to efficient trade and regional integration.
The Transportation Ministers meeting – held in Adelaide 28-30 March – was attended by 250 Ministers and delegates from all 21 APEC member economies.
The meeting was characterised by active and open discussion and a strong spirit of cooperation reflected in a shared approach to the major transport issues common to many economies.
The meeting agreed to a detailed Ministerial statement which sets out a plan of action against the three themes of the meeting – transport’s role in trade liberalisation and facilitation, transport safety, and transport security.
