Six of the world's top polluters meet in Sydney this week to promote clean energy technology as a way to tackle climate change without sacrificing economic growth.
The United States, Japan, China, India, Australia and South Korea will hold the first meeting of the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate - a pact they say will complement, not rival, the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases.
Unlike Kyoto, however, the six members will not be backing fixed targets for cutting emissions from burning fossil fuels, and some analysts expect any resolution to be vague.
The partnership will be counting on private support to develop and deliver technologies such as clean coal and renewable energy and will meet some of the world's top energy companies, including BHP Billiton and ExxonMobil, during the two-day talks.
"It's a meeting with the political and business clout to make a real difference," Australian industry minister Ian Macfarlane said.
But Australian environment minister Ian Campbell warned that there would be no "silver bullet" from the first meeting.
Critics have branded the partnership, which meets from Wednesday, as simply serving the needs of industrialised nations.
"As might be expected from a pact between six of the world's biggest coal exporters and users, this appears to be a deal to do nothing," Greenpeace spokeswoman said.