The United States and five major Asian nations have announced a partnership to develop new energy technologies to reduce pollution and curb global warming without hurting economic development. The plan was officially unveiled Thursday at a (36)________meeting in Laos.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development. He says it will develop and (37)________ clean energy technologies among some of the biggest polluters in the developing and the (38)________world.
The partnership brings together the world’’s two largest (39)________— the United States and China — and four other major Asian economies: Japan, India, Australia and South Korea. Together these six countries contribute more than one-half of the world’’s so-called greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
U. S. (40)________ Secretary of State Robert Zoellick says the partnership will allow industrialized partners to gain a better understanding of the challenges (41)________ developing nations.
"We have to listen to our developing country (42)________ about some of their particular problems," he said. "India and China in particular both have huge development challenges, of which energy is a (43)________component. "
Mr. Zoellick underscores that (44)________________________.
The Kyoto Protocol requires 35 industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by five percent by the year 2012. (45)________________________.
(46)________________________.