GERMANY UNCONVINCED OF FEASIBILITY OF MAJOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 000320 SIPDIS SIPDIS, EUR, OES PLEASE PASS TO CEQ CHAIRMAIN CONNAUGHTON AND D/NSA PRICE USEU FOR SPECIAL ENVOY BOYDEN GRAY E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2018 TAGS: SENV KGHG ENRG EUN GM SUBJECT: GERMANY UNCONVINCED OF FEASIBILITY OF MAJOR ECONOMIES LEADERS' DECLARATION DRAFT LANGUAGE REF: A. A. STATE 24257 ¶B. B. BERLIN 38 ¶C. C. BERLIN 316 Classified By: Economic Minister Counselor Robert A. Pollard for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) ECONOFF delivered ref A points to Karsten Sach, Environment Ministry Deputy Director General for International Cooperation (and Germany's lead climate negotiator). Sach was familiar with the points, which were similar to points made by Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chairman Jim Connaughton during a February 26 visit to Berlin. Sach said he does not believe China and India will accept commitments laid out in a Major Economies Leaders' Declaration, as the U.S. hopes, without more differentiation between the responsibilities of developed and emerging economies. He said the U.S. still needs to commit to do more than China or India. Sach argued that it would not be practical for Major Economies to make a commitment first and then try to work out all the details later. While the U.S. may have a bottom-up approach to global climate change issues, Sach said, the German approach is still top-down. Germany accepts that sectoral agreements and technology can be beneficial, Sach continued, but these should only be in addition to absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction requirements. ¶2. (C) Sach acknowledged that the U.S. is unhappy with EU language pushing for 25 to 40 percent GHG emissions reduction cuts with respect to 1990 levels. It must be the government's job to push the envelope and to raise public awareness, Sach insisted. It is "self-limiting" for the U.S. to say it already knows the extent of what can be achieved. ECONOFF emphasized the limits of what the Senate will ratify and discussed the range of legislative proposals currently in Congress. Sach expressed skepticism about claims that the U.S. is doing more than Europe with respect to climate change. Sach repeated Environment Ministry State Secretary Matthias Machnig's February 26 request for the actual GHG reduction amounts embodied in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. In response to ECONOFF's reminder that the IPCC has multiple scenarios for staying under a 2 degree Celsius temperature rise, Sach said that "if we wait until 2075 or 2100 then we'll all be dead." ¶3. (SBU) Sach also objected to the use of the language "nationally appropriate". Sach feels this is merely an excuse that any country could use to back out of its obligations. Further, he reiterated Germany's position that the Major Economies Process should not deal with the issues of adaptation or deforestation, mentioning the World Bank's engagement on the latter issue in particular (ref B). Sach's comments indicate he has a very open channel of communication with his French counterparts. For instance, in speaking about the two billion dollar U.S. contribution to the Clean Technology Fund, Sach said he "heard from Paris that only 100 million was allocated and this amount still depends on your Congress." At the end of the meeting, Sach mentioned that he is working very hard on the Sustainability Ordinance with respect to biofuels (ref C). ¶4. (SBU) ECONOFF also delivered the demarche talking points to Reinhard Krapp, the Head of the Environment Division at the Foreign Ministry. Krapp had no feedback on the U.S. position and instead talked primarily about the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference which will take place in Bonn in May. The government is close to finishing its "Stern Report on Biodiversity." Krapp noted that Chancellor Merkel plans to address the conference during its second week. TIMKEN JR