"Each of the six countries will come to the table with its own portfolio of actions," said James Connaughton, chairman of the White House US Council on Environmental Quality, before the first meeting of the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate.

The United States, Japan, China, India, Australia and South Korea, and some of the world's biggest resource and power companies, meet on Wednesday and Thursday. Environment groups view the partnership as a breakaway from Kyoto.

"Each country has already begun to identify a portfolio of actions to improve their energy security, reduce pollution and cut their greenhouse gases," Connaughton told Reuters in an interview in Sydney on Tuesday.

"What we are going to do with the partnership is find some alignment of those strategies so we can expand and promote investment in technologies that will help meet those goals."

For its part, the United States will point to recent legislation allocating nearly $1 billion in tax credits to consumers for more efficient cars and a $2 billion pledge to advance so-called "clean-coal" technology, Connaughton said.

Connaughton also cited China's commitment to reduce sulphur output from coal-fired power plants by 46 percent as an example of the practical measures being taken to reduce air pollution.

Washington hopes the Sydney conference will see a flow of information and expertise that will help developing industrial powerhouse nations China and India cut pollution.

Connaughton believes the US expertise in reducing dangerous methane from coal mining could be utilised in China and India.

Besides environment officials from the six nations, about 80 executives from some of the world's biggest energy-consuming companies, including the US aluminium maker Alcoa and South Korea's Posco, the world's fifth largest steelmaker, will attend the talks.

"The fact that these sectors can come together in a way that they haven't before, alone is a measure of success," he said.

RUBBER MEETS ROAD

Following the Sydney conference, private industry will be called on to form "task forces" to develop and fund pollution-cutting programmes. "That's where the rubber meets the road, financing for cleaner, more efficient energy," said Connaughton.

"The real dollars we are looking for are the private sector dollars, we're talking tens of billions of dollars if not hundreds of billions of dollars. If we don't get the investment sector we can't succeed."

Environmental groups have complained that they have been excluded from the Sydney climate talks which will be dominated by coal-producing and importing nations. Burning coal emits more greenhouse gases than any other fuel. China, the United States and India were the top burners of coal in 2004.

But Connaughton dismissed the criticism, saying coal remained essential for near-term economic global growth.

"It is a fact that a big portion of the world's economy is based on fossil fuels, we must recognise that fact and work to make those fuels cleaner and make them more efficient."

The United States and Australia, which have both refused to sign Kyoto claiming it would threaten economic development, say the Sydney climate pact will compliment Kyoto not subvert it.

"Kyoto doesn't have action strategies. This goes beyond Kyoto because it is about air pollution, about efficiency that will help promote energy security and more diverse energy sources to lift people out of poverty," said Connaughton.

Under Kyoto, developed nations will have to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12. Even if fully implemented, Kyoto would brake rising temperatures by just 0.18 F (0.1 C) by 2100, according to UN figures, tiny compared to forecasts by a UN climate panel of an overall rise of 2.5-10.4 F (1.4-5.8 C) this century