Bush and Howard back nuke power ahead APEC summit

By Michael Perry

SYDNEY (Reuters) - President George W. Bush says nuclear power is a key to tackling climate change, along with new energy technologies, but green groups want Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in Sydney to commit to greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Australia has made climate change a major issue for the 21 leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this week.

But developing APEC economies, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, believe little will be achieved at APEC.

"I was surprised this is being suddenly introduced as a priority issue by the Australian chairmanship," Philippine deputy foreign secretary Edsel Custoduo said on Wednesday.

Green groups say the APEC summit will be a failure if the leaders do not commit to binding greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said before APEC that the summit would not set binding targets, but may agree on a post-Kyoto consensus.

"If you truly care about greenhouse gases, then you'll support nuclear power," Bush told a news conference with Howard on Wednesday. "After all, nuclear power enables you to generate electricity without any greenhouse gases."

Howard backs nuclear energy in the fight against climate change, but Australia has no nuclear power plants and there is widespread public opposition to nuclear power in Australia.

During a bilateral meeting on Wednesday, Howard and Bush agreed to a "joint nuclear energy action plan" involving cooperation on civil nuclear energy, including research and development, and technical training.

Howard also said Australia would join the U.S.-sponsored Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, under which member countries agree to supply fuel for nuclear power plants.

Australia has 40 percent of the world's known reserves of uranium and exports uranium to 36 countries.

NUCLEAR DUMP

Green groups said Australia would become a nuclear waste dumping ground if it joined the partnership, although the government said the plan would not affect a long-standing policy of not accepting other countries' radioactive waste.

"Joining this global nuclear club will leave a toxic legacy for generations of Australians without solving dangerous climate change," said Greenpeace's Steve Shallhorn.

Australia recently ended a ban on uranium sales to India, reversing a policy of selling the nuclear fuel only to Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatories.