PORTUGUESE REACTIONS TO THE MAJOR ECONOMIES MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 002572

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C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA MARKINGS AND CLASS BY)

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2017
TAGS: ENRG SENV EUN PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGUESE REACTIONS TO THE MAJOR ECONOMIES MEETING


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CLASSIFIED BY MOLLY TREIBER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

Summary
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1.(U) Ministry of Environment officials told post that the EU
was encouraged by the September 27-28 Major Economies Meeting
hosted by the White House, but remained concerned that this
new initiative not drain resources from the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change process. They thought the US
could provide the most value added in the areas of
technology, deforestation and finance. They were concerned
with the lack of a clear US long-term vision, but appreciated
the USG honesty in acknowledging its "struggle" to tackle
climate change.

Encouraged but still Concerned
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2. (C) Fausto Brito e Abreu, Environment State Secretary
Humberto Rosa's Chief of Staff, and Nuno Lacasta,
Coordinator of Portugal's Climate Change Commission, told
post on October 3 that Portugal and the EU had come away from
the Major Economies Meeting convinced of the USG,s
commitment to tackling climate change and were particularly
impressed by Secretary Rice,s "fantastic" opening speech.
Brito e Abreu and Lacasta, both of whom accompanied Rosa to
the MEM, confided that the EU,s initial concerns that the
MEM would promote voluntary, rather than binding, emission
targets had been lessened during President Bush's speech.
However, they remained concerned that the MEM would divert
resources from the UN initiative, even though they no longer
believed that the US was trying to create a parallel process,
and asked that the State Department coordinate with them to
prepare for Bali. They said the USG had underestimated the
work to be done in preparation for the December meeting and
appeared to lack familiarity with the UN process.

Leading by Example
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3. (C) Claiming that Europeans have demonstrated leadership on
climate change, Brito e Abreu hoped the US would join the EU
in the forefront and set an example for developing nations.
Insisting on including developing countries (i.e. China and
India) in mandatory targets, he commented, would only delay
necessary action to combat climate change. It would be
better if the EU and the US could lead by example. Lacasta
suggested that if the three areas where the US had the
greatest value added -- technology, deforestation and finance
-- were addressed properly, they could help propel the UN
process toward greater success. He also opined that
substantive areas such as technology, deforestation, and
finance were likely to be used by countries down the road to
evaluate the credibility of the MEM.

EU Pleased with US Presentations
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4. (C) Regarding the meeting itself, Brito e Abreu indicated
that he was pleasantly surprised by the number of US speakers
who addressed carbon markets. In addition, the main European
delegations were pleased to have provided input to the
Chairman's Summary, but were disappointed that their
preferred language on carbon trading schemes (vice price
signals) was not utilized and that the summary neglected to
mention the French offer to hold the next MEM. The
Portuguese indicated that they were only notified of the
French proposal the night prior to its offer; however, they
welcomed the suggestion as a means of ensuring that ownership
of the process is shared around the globe. (Note: They
commented that the French only offered to host once they were
convinced of the USG commitment. End Note.) Brito e Abreu
and Lacasta hoped that the White House would remain engaged
at the highest levels as this ensure the political will to
move the process forward. Both officials, however, noted
their disappointment that the press was only present during
US presentations and opined that it seemed to suggest a
unilateral approach to the meeting.

Disappointed with US's Lack of Long Term Goals
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5. (C) Brito e Abreu and Lacasta noted that many delegates,
including Humberto Rosa, were disappointed with the apparent
lack of USG vision on long-term initiatives. Brito e Abreu
said the US delegation had not come prepared to present any
long term climate change goals following presentations by the

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EU, Canada, and Japan during the second day of meetings, and
scrambled to do so when asked. He opined that other countries
did not attend the conference "to serve as consultants"
although he did appreciate the USG,s honesty in
acknowledging its "struggle" to create climate change goals
and viewed it as a sign of serious US engagement on the issue.

Rosa's Harsh Comments Will Not Affect Relations
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6. (C) Brito e Abreu told post that Rosa came away from the MEM
convinced the US is committed to tackling climate change in
close collaboration with others, despite his harsh remarks in
a 4 October press article responding to Ambassador Hoffman's
29 September climate change interview. Rosa was angered by
the Ambassador's remarks about Portugal and other members
failing to meet their own Kyoto commitments and criticized
the Ambassador for using "imprecise statistics" in
comparing the environmental performance of the US with that
of the EU. However, we do not expect this exchange to affect
Portugal's determination to work with us in the aftermath of
the MEM meeting and in preparation for Bali and beyond.
Hoffman