PORTUGAL: CEQ CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON AND AMBASSADOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 002503

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2017
TAGS: SENV KGHG ENRG EU PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGAL: CEQ CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON AND AMBASSADOR
GRAY DISCUSS MAJOR ECONOMIES MEETING

REF: STATE 109658

Classified By: Inga Heemink, Pol/Econ Officer, Embassy Lisbon,
Reasons 1.4(b) and 1.4(d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In Lisbon September 12-13, Chairman of the
White House Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) James
Connaughton and USEU Ambassador Gray discussed with
Portuguese officials the upcoming Major Economies Meeting
(MEM) on climate change and energy security. The Portuguese
interlocutors warmly welcomed the President's initiative but
underscored their hope that the MEM would feed into, not
rival, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) talks in Bali in December. The Portuguese
expressed great concern about the speaking times allocated to
Portugal, as EU president, and the European Commission (EC)
in the current MEM agenda - citing that the need for them to
treated as separate entities. The Portuguese delegation to
the MEM will be led by Secretary of State for Environment
Humberto Rosa and include representatives from the Ministry
of Environment, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs. Portugal has selected the countries that
will provide the four senior-level technical experts:
Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, and Denmark. End Summary.

Meetings
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2. (U) On September 12, Ambassador Hoffman hosted a dinner
for Chairman Connaughton and Ambassador Gray attended by
Minister of Environment Francisco Nunes Correia, key
Portuguese officials responsible for climate change policy,
and French and British diplomats. On September 13, they met
with State
Secretary for Environment Humberto Rosa; Fausto Brito e

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Abreu, Advisor to Humberto Rosa; Tiago Antunes, Prime
Minister Socrates' Advisor for Climate and Energy; Nuno
LaCasta, Ministry of Environment Director-General for
Climate; and Miguel Sousa e Almeida, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA) Deputy Director-General for Technical and
Economic Affairs. Connaughton and Gray also met separately
with Joao Conceicao, Energy Advisor to the Minister of
Economy.

Portugal Welcomes U.S. Engagement on Climate Change
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3. (C) In all their exchanges, Connaughton and Gray explained
the objectives of the Major Economies Meeting and general
U.S. views on climate change and energy security, and
highlighted measures taken by the United States to tackle the
effects of climate change. Minister Nunes Correia and State
Secretary Rosa warmly welcomed the President,s initiative

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and determination to take a leadership role in the climate
change and energy security dialogue. Nunes Correia, in
particular, praised the U.S. decision to "re-engage" in
post-2012 global climate change talks. Conceicao also
appreciated the U.S. linkage of energy security and climate
change, agreeing with Connaughton that environment
specialists might articulate the problem but it was the
economic and finance ministries who were entrusted to finance
the solution(s).

MEM Must Be Part of UN Framework
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4. (C) Both Nunes Correia and Rosa noted that it was
essential for the MEM to be part of the UNFCCC process, not
parallel to it. Rosa in particular feared that any thing
that detracted attention from Bali would generate a "climate
of suspicion" in world public opinion. Connaughton
underscored that the President's initiative was never
intended to rival the UNFCCC but rather help accelerate the
process of post-2012 talks. By having the major economies
meet in a small group and agree on general principles for a
global framework, with a focus on nationally defined mid-term
goals and sector-based approaches, it would then be easier
for a larger group of nations to start negotiating the finer
details in Bali and in subsequent meetings.


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Delegation to MEM
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5. (SBU) Humberto Rosa will lead the Portuguese delegation to
the MEM. He will be accompanied by Fausto Brito e Abreu,
Tiago Antunes, and Nuno Lacasta. As EU president, Portugal
was also asked to select four senior-level technical experts
to attend the meeting. Rosa reported that he has chosen
representatives from Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, and Denmark
but the names of the specific individuals have not yet been
confirmed. The Portuguese technical expert will be either
Miguel Almeida e Sousa or Paulo Nascimento, MFA Director for
International Economic Organizations. The rationale behind
the selection of technical experts was Slovenia,s upcoming
assumption of the EU presidency on January 1, 2008, Poland,s
hosting of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP-14) in 2008
in Poznan, and Denmark,s hosting of the same event in 2009
in Copenhagen.

Press coverage
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6. (C) Chairman Connaughton and Ambassador Gray granted
separate interviews on September 13 to the Portuguese
newswire agency Lusa. Connaughton highlighted U.S. measures
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and noted that Portugal is
well-positioned to harness sun, wind, and water as
alternative sources of energy. Ambassador Gray, in turn,
urged Portugal to consider investing in nuclear energy as one
means of addressing the question of energy independence.
Asked about Kosovo final status negotiations, Ambassador Gray
underlined that the U.S. and EU are collaborating in the
search for a solution. The interviews were published on the
Lusa website under the headlines "U.S. Believes that Portugal
Should Invest in Nuclear Energy" and "USA wants Accord With
EU in the Fight Against Climate Change". We will forward
separately full translations of the articles.


7. (U) This cable was cleared by Chairman Connaughton and
Ambassador Gray.
Hoffman