website.net.nz

It took a comedian in an Osama bin Laden outfit to rouse Sydney’s APEC security monster into action after the convoy assembled by the ABC TV program passed two police checkpoints to pierce the sniper-ridden “ring of steel”.

The much-vaunted protection for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit was peeled away with embarrassing ease yesterday by satirists armed with hire cars, Canadian flags and a colour printer.

smh.com.au

Greenpeace Australia has been leaked a copy of the draft APEC leaders’ statement on climate change.

At first glance it looks like APEC might actually do something good on climate change. However, the truth of it is that APEC is being driven by the John Howard and George W Bush anti-Kyoto agenda. The spin is good. To an outsider, it looks as though they’re trying to do something about the climate.

But a closer inspection shows it’s business as usual. They acknowledge the importance of fossil fuels (read: coal), nuclear power- and a new and expanded ‘coal pact‘ which talks about more research into renewable technologies.

It says they are committed to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which again sounds great. But 12 years ago world governments decided the UNFCCC would not deliver the deep cuts in emissions that the climate science is telling us we need – that is why they negotiated Kyoto.

The APEC declaration is clearly ‘Made in the USA’ - covered with a thick coating of Australian coal dust.