Five nations commit to civilian nuclear power in new climate partnership

The countries have committed to enhancing cooperation to meet energy needs, reduce pollution, and address climate change concerns while promoting sustainable development.

Who it concerns: The agreement involves the governments of Australia, China, India, the Republic of Korea, and the United States of America. It concerns the energy sector, including industries related to clean coal, nuclear power, renewables (wind, solar, geothermal, hydro), bioenergy, and advanced transportation. It also involves the private sector and focuses on human and institutional capacity building.

What was agreed

• Commitment to develop, deploy, and transfer cleaner, more efficient technologies.
• Collaboration on short-term areas including energy efficiency, clean coal, carbon capture and storage, civilian nuclear power, and various renewable energy sources.
• Cooperation on mid-to-long-term transformational technologies such as hydrogen, nanotechnologies, and fusion energy.
• Development of a non-binding compact to define implementation methods, institutional arrangements, and financial arrangements.
• Regular review of the partnership to ensure effectiveness.
• Consistency with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and complementing, but not replacing, the Kyoto Protocol.

Also in the document

• The partnership explicitly includes collaboration on civilian nuclear power and next-generation nuclear fission.
• The document states the partnership will complement, but not replace, the Kyoto Protocol.
• The agreement is a non-binding vision statement rather than a treaty with specific financial quotas or purchase mandates.