The inaugural meeting of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which brings together six of some of the world's worst polluting nations, has wound up in Sydney.
Delegates said they would work together to frame a stragety to meet ever-growing energy demands as well as address challenges including air pollution, energy security and greenhouse gas intensity.
But they drew the line at scaling back their use of fossil fuels.
"We recognised that fossil fuels underpin our economies, and will be an enduring reality for our lifetimes and beyond," the six nations said in a statement.
"It is therefore critical that we work together to develop, demonstrate and implement cleaner and lower emissions technologies that allow for the continued economic use of fossil fuels while addressing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions."
The six -- Australia, the US, Japan, China, India and South Korea -- account for almost half of the world's gross domestic product, population, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gases are blamed for causing rising temperatures worldwide.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard told the conference that "the idea taht we can address climate change matters successfully at the expense of economic growth is not only unrealistic but also unacceptable".
He pledged A$100 million to support a range of environmentally-friendly energy projects to slash greenhouse gas emissions over five years.
US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said his country will contribute $52m to the partnership.
Environmental groups critical
Despite the pledges, environmentalists said the meeting was a smokescreen aimed at diverting attention from US and Australian refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which sets targets on reducing greenhouse gas pollution.
The two countries say Kyoto is unfair as it does not commit developing nations to reducing emissions.
Greenpeace and the New South Wales Nature Conservation Council have slammed the green pledge, saying it will do little to tackle climate change.
Greenpeace spokeswoman Catherine Fitzpatrick said the money pales in comparison to the $50m spent by the government on advertising its industrial relations changes and $150m spent on upgrading coal infrastructure.
She said the new agreement is more of a trade pact rather than an environmental solution.
The Nature Conservation council's Cate Faehrman said the voluntary approach to the measures is simply a license for government and business to do nothing.