APEC summit ends on lukewarm note
The two-day meet of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (apec) countries ended on September 9, 2007, in Sydney, Australia, amidst much opposition and protests. The key outcome of the meet was a decision to push the Doha trade talks forward and support a post-Kyoto pact.
apec members pledged to show "political will, flexibility and ambition' to push the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks to a conclusion. The step, experts say, might be significant, with apec member-countries like China, Japan, Russia and the us accounting for nearly half of global trade.
apec members agreed to check global warming by improving energy use and support a post-2012 climate change pact. China agreed to the pact but reiterated that developed nations shoulder the burden for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.Also discussed were issues like food safety, health and terrorism.
Meanwhile, critics and environmentalists dismissed the agreement as too timid. Greenpeace called the climate change agreement "Sydney Distraction' because it did not set any binding targets. The talks were greeted with protest march by thousands of people in Sydney. They were protesting against a range of issues from the Iraq war to global warming.