G7 Summit: Anthony Albanese and Joe Biden strike climate change deal and take aim at China in Quad

Anthony Albanese and Joe Biden have promised Australia and the US to join forces in the fight against climate change.

The Australian Prime Minister and the US President struck the historic deal when they met on the sidelines of the G7 summit of world leaders to be held in Japan.

Under the agreement, the two nations will jointly develop solar, wind and storage technology, collaborate in supplying critical minerals and drive the emerging hydrogen market.

In a separate agreement, Biden signed Australia as a domestic source for the massive US defense industry, opening up a huge market for military supplies.

Mr Albanese and Mr Biden also agreed to establish a new US space station in Australia and to be part of a joint council to combat child sexual exploitation.

In a joint statement, the two leaders said that “Australia and the United States will provide sustainable, resilient and safe critical minerals and clean energy technology to the world.”

“We are going to establish climate and clean energy as the third pillar of the Australia-US alliance,” Biden said, with other pillars being defense and economic cooperation.

A climate change action plan will be developed by the end of the year and a new ministerial level dialogue will be established between Australia and the US with the aim of achieving net zero emissions.

The US will also support Australia’s bid to host the COP31 summit on climate change in 2026, in partnership with the Pacific Islands.

During their meeting, Mr Biden apologized to Mr Albanese for canceling his planned visit to Australia next week to participate in the Leaders’ Quad Summit, which would also have included the prime ministers of Japan and India.

A looming economic disaster in his own country caused Biden to cancel his visit.

The US is rapidly approaching its “debt ceiling,” an upper limit set by Congress on how much the country can borrow, meaning the country faces the catastrophic prospect of defaulting on its loans unless it is lifted.

“My sincerest apologies to you for coming here instead of me being in Australia right now,” Biden said.

Mr Albanese said he would have done the same in Mr Biden’s shoes.

Mr Biden said he looks forward to hosing down Mr Albanese in Washington DC within six months.

At a reconvened meeting of the four Quad leaders in Japan, they agreed to boost digital connectivity in the Pacific Islands with an Open Access Radio Network and streamline clean energy supply chains.

The four leaders also agreed to develop training grants for 1,800 infrastructure experts to work together to protect critical submarine communications cables.

Mr Albanese said the agreements “advance Quad’s work on climate change and clean energy, infrastructure and connectivity, health security and critical and emerging technology”.

“The Quad leaders meeting in person sends a strong message about Quad unity and what the group can accomplish together,” Mr. Albanese said, praising the other leaders for their flexibility in moving the summit.

“Australia is always better off working with our close friends and partners, engaging openly and constructively.”

Despite comments this week suggesting the scrapped Quad would spell the doom of the alliance, Biden was able to meet Mr Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a 36-point joint statement that did not mention China by name, the four leaders focused on growing authoritarianism and continued territorial claims in the East and South China Seas.

“(In the East and South China Seas) we express serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels, and attempts to disrupt other countries’ offshore exploitation activities,” the joint statement said. declaration.

“We emphasize that disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, without the threat or use of force.”

Together, the leaders said their vision was for a “peaceful and prosperous, stable and secure” region that “respects sovereignty” and is free from “harassment and coercion.”

Aware that our era must not be a war, we remain committed to dialogue and diplomacy.

In the context of Ukraine, leaders said the international security environment was under strain and the international rules-based order was under threat.

In an effort to counter China’s growing influence in the region, leaders have committed to building and operating infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific, strengthening submarine cable networks and developing an open radio access network with Palau.

Their commitment stands in stark contrast to China’s multibillion-dollar investment in regional infrastructure.

Mr Albanese said he was pleased to have convened the meeting “to discuss the pressing challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region and to deepen the Quad’s cooperation.”

“The in-person gathering of Quad leaders sends a strong message about Quad unity and what the group can achieve together. Australia is always better off working with our close friends and partners, engaging openly and constructively,” he said.

“I am proud of what we have delivered through the Quad to date, and will continue to work closely with my Quad colleagues in support of an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, where sovereignty is respected.”

In a joint media appearance, Mr. Biden thanked his fellow Quad counterparts for accommodating the changed plans; but said the mission remained the same.

“That is to advance our vision of a free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific, and to demonstrate the ability of democracies to perform in a shared cause,” he said.

“I think in 10, 20, 30 years people will look back at this quad and say it changed not only the dynamics of the region, but of the world.

“…I think much of our world’s future will be written here in the Indo-Pacific.”