Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Sunday unveiled a funding plan valued 70.7 million Australian dollars (60.9 million U.S. dollars) for three measures to help cut green house gas emissions through international efforts.

    A press release issued by the Prime Minister's office quoted Howard as saying that the first 5 million Australian dollars (4.3 million U.S. dollars) is to fund the Asia-Pacific Network for Energy Technology (APNet).

    The APNet will be initiated to improve linkages between researchers in the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) region on emerging low emissions energy and energy efficiency technologies, accelerating the development of those technologies and contributing to medium- and long-term reductions in green house gas emissions, the prime minister was cited as saying.

    Some 50 million Australian dollars (43 million U.S. dollars) of the newly announced funding will be the second commitment to the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, a climate change pact established by Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United States in 2006, the Australian prime minister said.

    The Australian government has committed 100 million Australian dollars (86 million U.S. dollars) to 63 regional projects on climate change since the Partnership was set up in 2006, the press release quoted Howard as saying.

    The remaining 15.7 million Australian dollars (14.3 U.S. dollars) are to fund the Asia-Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Program, with an aim to assist regional economies to improve the ability of their forests to capture and to store carbon dioxide and to assist the economies to develop their forest management expertise.

    Australia is to host the 15th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting from Sept. 8 to 9.