Aluminium Industries Support Asia-Pacific Partnership Goals to Advance Clean Industrial Development.

WASHINGTON & SYDNEY, Australia -- The aluminum industries within the six member countries of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate have pledged to work together to achieve the partnership's objectives.

Aluminum industry representatives attending the AP6 Ministerial Meeting yesterday announced the development of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for voluntary action in the areas of cleaner air, energy conservation, recycled materials and improved industrial efficiencies. The MoU will be formally signed at an industry meeting scheduled for Beijing in early May 2006.

U.S. Aluminum Association representative Steven J. Demetriou, chairman and CEO of Aleris International, said, "Aluminum is an industry sector that can make practical, measurable contributions to clean economic development and the reduction of greenhouse gases. We are committed to harnessing the advantages of aluminum to achieve economic and social progress as well as measurable improvement in environmental quality.

"Aluminum contributes to a sustainable future when used efficiently. Recycled aluminum, for example, saves up to 95 percent of the energy required for virgin material. Other efficiencies include energy conservation from lighter-weight aluminum-constructed consumer vehicles, and fully recyclable buildings and packaging," Demetriou said.

Australian Aluminium Council president Wayne Osborn, managing director of Alcoa World Alumina Australia, said, "The aluminium industry welcomes the Asia-Pacific Partnership initiative and its objectives. We are focused on realising efficiency, technical and process management improvements across the sector."

Rio Tinto Aluminium chief executive Oscar Groeneveld said, "The Asia-Pacific Partnership fits very well with the aluminum industry's global sustainability initiative and this industry accord is designed to further that broad, co-operative approach, based on sustainable development principles, which maintains economic growth while addressing key environmental issues such as climate change."

The Asia-Pacific Partnership meeting brought together minister-level government and private sector officials from Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States. Ministers received input from industry representatives on sustainable energy issues and technology development and deployment, and how industry and government can capture opportunities that meet the Partnership objectives.

"The governments and private sectors of the APP countries have the historic opportunity to leverage the ingenuity of the private sector, the power of markets and the strength of the public sector to achieve a more secure energy future, a cleaner environment and greater prosperity in our own countries and around the world," Secretary Bodman said. "The real strength of the APP is the private sector's participation and the chance for them to show leadership on these critical issues. I look forward to working with the six partner nations and the industry representatives to help the private sector succeed."

Secretary Bodman joined Australian Minister of Industry, Resources and Tourism, Ian Macfarlane to host a dialogue between the government ministers and CEOs from the six APP countries.

Draft Aluminium Industry MoU Areas of Cooperation

The Aluminum Association (US), the Aluminium Association of India, the
Australian Aluminium Council, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry
Association, the Japan Aluminium Association and the Korea Nonferrous
Metal Association have agreed to cooperate in the following areas:

     1. Environmental Control Technologies and Information Exchange
        - including identification of key indices and areas of
        cooperation for climate protection relevant to the aluminum
        sector, emissions benchmarking efforts and identification of
        voluntary measures to reduce perfluorocarbon (PFC) and
        greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

     2. Energy Efficiency - including identification of voluntary
        measures to reduce energy consumption per unit of production,
        and to improve the efficiency of aluminum operations.

     3. Health & Safety Education and Information - such as safety
        workshops, shared industry best practice guidelines and
        information exchange to improve workplace health & safety
        efforts.

     4. Recycling Education & Techniques - including advanced
        recycling methods to save energy and reduce GHG emissions in
        aluminum production.

     5. Product Applications - including mechanisms to advance and
        improve packaging; light-weighting of ground, aviation and sea
        transport; and residential and commercial construction.

     6. Measurement and Reporting (Environmental Monitoring /
        Production Related Statistics) - including air emissions and
        sustainability indices monitoring, and reporting of
        statistical information to address and determine progress on
        voluntary energy-intensity based metrics under the
        partnership.

     7. Information Exchange - the leaders of the Aluminum
        Association, the Aluminium Association of India, the
        Australian Aluminium Council, the Japan Aluminium Association
        and the Korea Nonferrous Metal Association pledge to meet
        regularly to exchange information and monitor progress in each
        of the areas of cooperation. They will also report annually to
        their respective governments on the goals that they have set
        and the progress in achieving those goals.