Environmental Priority In Rice's Australia Talks
The Age
Thursday January 5, 2006
SHE'S the fitness addict and sports fan who has the ear of the United States President - and might one day become the first woman to hold the world's most powerful political job.
As she prepares to visit Australia next week on her first official trip here as America's most senior diplomat, Condoleezza Rice is tackling her role with the same vigour she brings to her pre-dawn treadmill workouts. Nearing her first anniversary as Secretary of State, Dr Rice has already spent more than 500 hours flying the world, covering 386,533 kilometres on the way to 49 countries.On those trips she sought new concessions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, pondered strategies for fixing the disastrous security situation in Iraq, sifted through the North Korean nuclear threat and tried to soothe tensions with Europe.On her six-day trip to Indonesia and Australia, starting this weekend, her agenda will cover tsunami recovery, bird flu and climate change. Her priority in Sydney will be the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, a new forum that focuses on promoting less-polluting technology rather than mandated targets for cutting greenhouse emissions.Critics say it is designed to distract attention from the United Nations-backed Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which the US and Australia have refused to sign. But other members of the new forum, such as Japan, are signatories to the Kyoto targets. The new group brings together the US, Australia, China, Japan, India and South Korea.There is a growing domestic debate on the future of nuclear power in Australia as an alternative to fossil fuels, with several federal ministers advocating nuclear energy to curb greenhouse emissions.Dr Rice will also join ministerial talks for the US-Japan-Australia Trilateral Strategic Dialogue, a forum that monitors counterterrorism and other regional issues.
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