SCENESETTER: DUTCH ENVIRONMENT SECRETARY'S

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 002894

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STATE FOR EUR/UBI/HOLLIDAY AND G/DOBRIANSKY
STATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA FOR ADMINISTRATOR LEAVITT
USAID FOR ADMINISTRATOR NATSIOS
WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ/JAMES CONNAUGHTON
ENERGY FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY MCSLARROW
TANSPORTATION FOR TYLER DUVALL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ENRG PREL NL
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER: DUTCH ENVIRONMENT SECRETARY'S
WASHINGTON MEETINGS



1. Summary: Dutch State Secretary for the Environment
Pieter van Geel will travel to Washington November 15 to meet
with USG energy and environment officials. He wants to
explore possible next steps for a broad, post-Kyoto dialogue
on climate change. His vision for future climate change
discussions includes IFIs, development banks, and donor
country finance and development agencies and their developing
country counterparts. In Washington the environment
secretary will also raise clean energy partnerships and

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research, the Montreal Protocol, and sustainable mobility.
End Summary.


2. State Secretary for the Environment Pieter van Geel will
be traveling to Washington November 15 to discuss with
Washington officials the possibility of a new dialogue with
developed and developing countries that looks beyond the
Kyoto Protocol. His schedule is as follows:

November 15, 2004
11:00-11:30 James Connaughton, Chairman of the Council
on Environmental Quality
13:00-13:45 Andrew Natsios, USAID Administrator
14:00-15:00 Mike Leavitt, EPA Administrator
15:30-16:30 Kyle McSlarrow, Deputy Secretary of Energy
16:45-17:30 Paula Dobriansky, U/S of State for Global
Affairs.


3. Van Geel told the embassy he wants to explore next steps
for managing climate change. With Russian ratification of
the protocol, van Geel believes now is the time to begin a
discussion on climate change that both goes beyond the Kyoto
Protocol, and involves developing and developed country
emitters that are not participating.


4. Van Geel seeks to involve IFIs and development banks, as
well as donor and developing countries' finance, economic and
development ministries in discussions on next steps to curb
climate change. He is looking for ways developed countries
can encourage, and where necessary, incent developing
countries to adopt more environmentally sustainable mobility,
energy, manufacturing and natural resource management.


5. In addition to exploring the next steps for a global
dialogue on climate change, in Washington the environment
secretary will likely raise the Montreal Protocol on methyl

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bromide, vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency standards,
renewable energy research, hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell
cars, and the International Partnership for a Hydrogen
Economy (IPHE) and Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum
(CSLF) with appropriate USG officials. Van Geel has told us
the Dutch intend to join the IPHE and CSLF as soon as
possible.


6. Comment: Van Geel is an honest and cooperative
interlocutor. He is a pragmatist who understands the U.S.
position on Kyoto and our continued commitment to curbing
climate change. Van Geel is respected and outspoken among his
EU colleagues. In their meetings with van Geel, Washington
officials have an opportunity to take useful soundings and to
influence him on our vision for global climate change
cooperation. In return, van Geel, in typical Dutch fashion,
is likely to speak plainly about what he judges is doable and
what is not, and the direction these discussions are taking
in the EU context. End Comment.
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