Asia Pacific Nations Going Green

Asian and Pacific leaders signed an agreement Monday to help reduce their dependence on conventional sources of energy and promote the use of biofuels, while urging North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

The Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security was signed by leaders from Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, China and South Korea after a three-hour summit in the central Philippine city of Cebu.

The agreement lists a set of goals for "reliable, adequate and affordable" energy supplies essential for sustaining economic growth and competitiveness.

The East Asia conclave came two days after the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) completed its annual summit, vowing to strengthen political solidarity, fight terrorism and create a free trade zone by 2015.

ASEAN nations are working to establish a terrorism database that would include a list of the region's most-wanted terror suspects, an Indonesian official said Monday.

The project would be one of the first products of the landmark anti-terrorism accord signed by the leaders in Cebu over the weekend, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said.

Police agencies have already begun discussions on such a database and terror list and the issue will again be taken up in a meeting in Jakarta in March of six ASEAN members facing terrorism problems along with Australia, he said.

The ASEAN leaders and their counterparts from six Asian economic powerhouses also pledged to pursue investments in regional infrastructure through greater private sector involvement.

The declaration calls for moves to improve energy efficiency and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, while urging countries to expand renewable energy systems and biofuel production and "for interested parties, civilian nuclear power."

It also calls for mitigating greenhouse gas emission and ensuring a stable supply of energy "through investments in regional infrastructure such as the ASEAN power grid and the trans-ASEAN gas pipeline."

The leaders also agreed to explore strategic fuel stockpiling to reduce their dependence on oil imports, according to the document.

China has been seeking greater influence over key energy markets while striving to alleviate worries over its huge and growing appetite for oil.

"China attaches great importance to energy security and energy cooperation," Premier Wen Jiabao said in a speech to the summit, adding that his nation "will continue to rely on itself to meet its energy need and priority will be given to raising energy efficiency."

He said there needed to be stronger dialogue on energy security as well as increased conservation and research on clean and alternative sources.

The leaders expressed concern over North Korea's nuclear test and urged Pyongyang to desist from further tests and "take concrete and effective steps" to implement a 2005 agreement in which it pledged to disarm in exchange for security guarantees and aid, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said.

They also emphasized support for the so-called six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program "and reaffirmed conviction that the talks should result in more tangible progress in addressing outstanding issues," Arroyo told reporters.

Earlier Monday, China's Wen told reporters that countries involved in international talks on North Korea must renew efforts to overcome differences and resolve the issue.

Despite lobbying by South Korea to downplay the alleged abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea, the leaders urged Pyongyang to "actively address the security and humanitarian concerns of the international community, including food shortages and ... the abduction issue."

"If the abduction issue is raised as a precondition to the resolution of the nuclear issue, it will make it difficult to resolve the nuclear dispute," South Korean presidential spokesman Yoon Seong-yong told The Associated Press.

The leaders also vowed to work closer in addressing bird flu and natural disasters.

The East Asia summit was first held in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005 as India, Australia and New Zealand sought more active roles in regional issues.

ASEAN's members are the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.