Washington — The United States and Australia will launch a new dialogue next year focused on energy security and human rights issues related to the energy sector.
Speaking with Australia’s minister for resources and energy, Martin Ferguson, in Adelaide, Australia, November 15, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S.-Australia energy dialogue will begin in the first half of 2013.
Its agenda includes energy security and supply, boosting bilateral investment and regional cooperation, and promoting clean energy technologies, Clinton said. The dialogue will include human rights protections, skills training and education for energy workers and communities, she added.
The secretary also welcomed Australia’s announcement that it will participate in an initiative called the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
“That is an initiative that brings together governments, companies and [nongovernmental organizations] to ensure that energy production is safe, secure and responsible. So this new dialogue will serve as a launch pad for greater engagement not only between us, but to the region, something that we both are committed to doing in working with partners across the Asia-Pacific,” Clinton said.
The Australian minister praised the success of U.S. investment in Australia’s petroleum and energy sector and the range of partnerships between Australian and U.S. energy companies in areas outside of Australia. The minister said Australia and the United States understand that they have shared responsibilities in Asia with regard to energy issues.
“Clearly we have major responsibilities in the Asia region from an energy and security point of view, our focus on important markets, how we cooperate with countries such as Indonesia, the development of their resources, and also being a reliable supplier of energy to places such as Japan, Korea, and China, just to name a few,” Ferguson said.
The Australian minister said he looks forward to cooperation with the United States in renewable energy.
The focus, he said, is on “innovation, how we partner both at the research level and at an investment level, develop export opportunities for countries that are not as energy rich as Australia and the United States.”
A joint communiqué released by Clinton and Ferguson provided more details on how the two countries view cooperation on energy issues.
The communiqué said the two governments agree on the importance of having a global and regional “governance architecture” that supports reliable and secure supply of competitively priced energy and resources, including to emerging economies.
The communiqué also said Australia and the United States will pursue their initiative on solar energy collaboration, which received $12 million in funding in 2011. “Global energy security and concerns about the climate are driving the uptake of clean and efficient renewable energy technologies,” the communiqué said.
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