FIRST LOOK AT GERMANY'S EU PRESIDENCY, G-8

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 002548

SIPDIS

DEPT PASS CEQ AND EPA - MEDEARIS, DEPT FOR OES AND EB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ENRG EAIR GM
SUBJECT: FIRST LOOK AT GERMANY'S EU PRESIDENCY, G-8
ENVIRONMENT AGENDA



1. (SBU) Summary. Although the German government is not
expected to finalize its G-8 and EU presidency agendas until
after cabinet meetings on each scheduled for October 1 and
October 11 respectively, Environment Ministry contacts
conveyed August 23 what they see as focal points for German
environmental policy during the dual presidencies in 2007.
In both the G-8 and EU context, according to the Environment
Ministry and MFA contacts, climate change will remain a
priority and the German government will also emphasize energy
supply issues. The Environment Ministry communicated an
ambitious EU presidency agenda on renewable energy innovation
and further emissions reductions for the transportation
sector, but recent European Commission discussions and
signals from the auto sector indicate these ambitions may go
unrealized in 2007. Contacts at the MFA noted the Economics
Ministry may have in mind different energy and emissions
goals for the G8 and EU presidencies and emphasized the
agendas are still subject to internal discussion and vetting.
Other environmental issues for Germany's EU presidency will
be biodiversity and water quality. Environment Ministry
contacts used their meeting with Global Affairs officer to
indicate they want to engage with the U.S. on climate and
energy. End Summary.

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G-8 PRIORITIES
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2. (U) Global Affairs officer met August 23 with Norbert
Gorissen, Head of the Environment Ministry's (BMU) European
Union Division, and Michael Kracht and Birgit Schwenk from
BMU's International Cooperation Department. Gorissen is
responsible in BMU for formulating plans for the German EU
presidency; Kracht and Schwenk work on G-8 presidency
planning.


3. (U) Kracht noted an October 1 cabinet meeting will
officially set the agenda for Germany's G-8 Presidency and
speculates the three major economic themes will be innovation
and IPR protection, increasing coordination of financial
markets, and resources and energy. He acknowledged climate
change will not feature as prominently as it did at the
Gleneagles Summit, but he said Germany intends to emphasize
the link between climate change and energy efficiency and
diversity of energy supplies.


4. (U) Schwenk added climate change likely will receive a lot
of press attention in 2007 because the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will publish its Fourth
Assessment Report over the course of the year. The year 2007
also marks the final year before the first commitment period
under the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012). Both at the UNFCCC and
in the context of its G-8 presidency, Schwenk continued,
Germany will look to establishing an international climate
regime for the post-2012 period and hopes other countries,
especially the U.S., will participate in the discussion, if
not the emissions-reduction regime itself. The BMU sees the
upcoming U.S.- EU High Level Dialogue on Climate Change,
Clean Energy, and Sustainable Development as a good
opportunity to identify areas for cooperation and sustain
exchange on U.S. and EU climate policies. (Note: While
remaining commited to Kyoto's emissions reductions regime,
the BMU is signalling renewed German interest to engage the
U.S. on areas for cooperation outside the protocol process.
Gorissen, Kracht, and Schwenk all noted Germany and the U.S.
share interest in accessing renewable energy and in
developing clean and more efficient energy technologies.
They suggested areas of discussion at the high level dialogue
include promoting greenhouse gas reducing technologies and
lowering emissions in the transportation sector. These are
both areas, Schwenk observed, where Germany and the U.S. can
learn from each others' experience. End note.)

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EU PRIORITIES
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5. (SBU) Gorissen said BMU wants to give environmental policy
an "active" part in the EU presidency by asserting that
environmental standards drive innovation and contribute to
competitiveness. He noted Germany will launch the EU's
seventh framework program for research (FP 7) -- a 50 billion
Euro instrument to support international cooperation on
science and technology from 2007 to 2013 -- in Brussels in
March 2007 and wants to couple the research program with an
action plan for "Energy for Europe." Gorissen said the
action plan would respond to the European Commission's
request for a "concrete roadmap" on energy and would set new
goals for EU members' renewable energy production by 2020,
including recommendations for increasing the use of combined
heat and power installations and biofuels. (Comment: The
BMU's plan to link renewable energy to the EU's research and
innovation strategy may have more rhetorical value than
economic potential. Under the FP 7 the amount of EU research
money slated for renewable energy is relatively low: only 4.8
percent of the 50 billion Euro budget, 2.4 billion Euro, will
be allocated to energy research between 2007 and 2013. Of
this amount, the European Parliament decided June 15 that 1.6
billion Euro should go to renewable energy and efficiency
programs but the European Commission is resisting this
earmark, claiming other kinds of projects may be more
derserving of the funds. End Comment.)


6. (U) On transportation, Gorissen briefly noted the BMU will
continue to support emissions targets for air traffic, but
did not provide any detail on what the targets would look
like. He also said the BMU would like to use the EU
presidency to push for stricter nitrogen oxide (NOx)
emissions limits on diesel cars. While EU members are still
debating the latest version of emissions standards, Euro 5,
the BMU is already looking ahead to a "Euro 6" version that
would put NOx limits for diesel and petrol engines on equal
footing. Diesel engines currently emit much more NOx than
petrol engines; car manufacturers claim new targets pose
significant technical challenges that will have a negative
impact on car prices, fuel consumption efficiency and hence,
carbon dioxide emissions.


7. (U) According to Gorissen, ongoing issues for the German
EU presidency will be water quality and biodiversity. He
noted the latest development on the issue of water pollution
is a directive the Commission proposed July 2006. That
directive would set limits on EU surface water concentration
levels for 41 types of pesticides and heavy metals. The BMU
expects to host a conference on the impact of climate change
on European waters in February 2007 in Berlin. On
biodiversity, Gorissen said Germany plans to host a
Biodiversity Conference in Bonn in 2008 and will begin
preparation of the EU position during its Presidency. Key
biodiversity issues for the EU will be financing biodiversity
conservation projects in developing countries and improving
data sharing.

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MFA: "AGENDAS STILL NOT FINALIZED"
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8. (U) In a separate conversation, a MFA contact who follows
environmental themes in the G-8 and EU observed the BMU has
its own ideas about what Germany's dual presidency agendas
should look like. He noted the Economics Ministry will
likely have different views from the BMU, especially on a
renewable energy roadmap and NOx emissions targets. He
emphasized the EU and G-8 presidency agendas are still
subject to internal discussion and vetting within the German
government and will not be finalized until October cabinet
meetings.
KOENIG