CANADIAN PURSUIT OF APP MEMBERSHIP

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000155 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA, OES AND EB DOE FOR POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL EPA FOR OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ENRG CA SUBJECT: CANADIAN PURSUIT OF APP MEMBERSHIP Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. Not for Internet distribution. ¶1. (SBU) On January 26 Environment Canada Assistant Deputy Minister for International Affairs David McGovern reviewed for ESTH Counselor Canada's strategy and recent efforts in support of its bid for membership in the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP). McGovern said Canada had decided the best way to demonstrate the seriousness of its intent was to ensure it had funding for APP activities before it formally requested admission to the partnership. The next time it engaged in serious discussions with APP partners, McGovern expected Canada would be able "to put its money on the table." ¶2. (SBU) McGovern continued that the internal "paperwork" and approvals needed to secure the funding was nearly complete. He hoped final Cabinet approval would be in hand next month and that funding for APP for up to four years would be available beginning at the start of the Canadian fiscal year on April 1. ¶3. (SBU) McGovern confirmed that Environment Canada had been talking with the other APP partners and pressing Canada's case for membership. Former Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, for example, had discussions with her counterparts from APP partners at the UNFCCC COP 12 in Nairobi last November, and officials had also consulted with their APP counterparts. McGovern related that Environment Canada had heard from others, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, that neither China nor India would likely support expansion of APP at this time. Environment Canada had been pleasantly surprised: while India "wouldn't engage," in McGovern's words, China reacted "relatively positively." McGovern stressed his appreciation for strong USG support for Canada's bid to join the APP. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS