Ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies on Tuesday called for concerted efforts to honor their commitments to promoting cleaner and more energy-efficient transportation across the region.

APEC economies are making good progress toward the goal of reducing energy use in economic activities by at least 25 percent by 2030, said the transportation and energy ministers at the first-ever joint Transportation and Energy Ministerial Conference.

"To create jobs and lay the foundation for a prosperous future, we must grow our economies while staying mindful of 21st century challenges like climate change and energy efficiency," said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood who co-hosted the meeting with Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy.

"Transportation is directly tied to our energy challenges." Chu said. "To achieve economic prosperity, strengthen energy security, and protect the environment, we can and must move to a sustainable transportation future."

The ministers directed their working groups to study ways to make transportation systems more energy-efficient. They also called for further efforts to phase out subsidies that promote the use of fossil fuels, stressing transportation accounts for a large share of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

The participants also called for the promotion of bio-fuels and vehicles powered by natural gas or electricity to reduce oil consumption by transportation while making freight transportation more energy-efficient and developing such transportation systems for livable and low-carbon communities.

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