APEC Tackles Security After Climate Compromise

SYDNEY - Asia-Pacific leaders tackled security issues, including food safety, on the last day of their summit on Sunday after compromising on climate change a day earlier with a vague plan to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum would turn to "human security" issues at their retreat in Sydney Opera House, including terrorism, food safety and pandemics.

Pacific Rim leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush, China's President Hu Jintao and Russia's Vladimir Putin adopted the "Sydney Declaration" on Saturday, calling on members to set voluntary, non-binding targets to cut emissions, while increasing energy efficiency and forests.

Proponents say the declaration creates consensus on the thorny climate change issue and will carry weight at a series of meetings in Washington, New York and Bali about replacing the Kyoto Protocol, due to expire in 2012.

But green groups were dismissive.

"The Sydney Declaration is really just a Sydney distraction from real action on climate change," Greenpeace energy campaigner Catherine Fitzpatrick said.

The declaration was seen as a compromise between rich and poor APEC economies, which together account for about 60 percent of the world's economy.

FOOD SAFETY TASKFORCE

Earlier this week, APEC ministers agreed to set up a food safety taskforce, chaired by China and Australia, to ensure the health and safety of the region's population.

The action was not aimed at China, which has been grappling with a series of product recalls in a number of countries, ranging from toys to toothpaste, APEC host Australia said.

APEC trade and foreign ministers issued a statement on Thursday saying they recognised the need to improve food safety to ensure "the health and safety of our populations".

The ministers' statement, which is usually adopted by their leaders at the end of their summit, also said terrorism remained "a persistent, evolving and long-term threat to our prosperity and the security of our people".

A study in Singapore found the impact on APEC economies from a major terrorist attack would be $137 billion in lost GDP and $159 billion in reduced trade.

Other threats to regional economic growth included natural disasters, food supply contamination and pandemics, such as bird flu, they said, approving a disaster recovery programme.

The leaders are also expected to issue a separate statement calling for a conclusion to world trade talks that have dragged on for six years.

U.S. President George W. Bush during the APEC meetings called for more flexibility in global trade talks, saying the Doha round of talks in Geneva was a "once-in-a-generation opportunity".

APEC's 21-member economies account for half of global trade.

Trade negotiators may be edging closer to a deal on the most divisive issues in the Doha talks, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a television interview on Saturday.

"There is a strong sense that it's make-or-break moment. It may take a few weeks, but my sense is that there is a lot of focus and energy," Lamy told CNBC in a taped interview.