SUBJECT: CLIMATE CHANGE: U.S. ENGAGEMENT IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 119282

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KGHG SENV ENRG
SUBJECT: SUBJECT: CLIMATE CHANGE: U.S. ENGAGEMENT IN
DECEMBER NEGOTIATIONS

REF: STATE 112885 (NOTAL)


1. This is an action request. Please see paragraph 10.

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OBJECTIVES
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2. Department asks EUR posts to work to ensure host country
officials and opinion leaders understand that the United
States is committed to advancing international climate
negotiations at the UN conference in Poland December 1-12. We
want to convey that we remain serious in our pursuit of an
effective new global approach to climate change, and that
with the change of administration we expect a smooth
transition of our efforts in the climate negotiations.


3. Among our goals is to ensure negotiating space for the
United States as the new administration develops its
positions on climate change. This could include complex and
potentially lengthy processes involving the Congress on what
measures the United States may take at home to further reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases.


4. As we look ahead to the targeted conclusion of
international climate negotiations in December 2009 in
Copenhagen, we want to ensure that this December,s UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in
Poznan sets a solid foundation by producing a deeper
understanding of Parties, priorities and expectations. We
also want to ensure that Poznan does not result in partial or
premature decisions, and that any outcomes are fully
compatible with longstanding and bipartisan U.S. positions.

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BACKGROUND
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5. Over the past year, the United States has been developing
new and enhanced positions on the range of issues under
negotiation. We believe that these together form a
negotiating stance that is ambitious and practical, and
representative of bipartisan U.S. views.


6. For more than a decade, the Congress and successive U.S.
administrations have emphasized the same two principles for
U.S. engagement in international efforts to address climate
change. In essence, there exists a national position that
U.S. participation in any climate agreements is contingent on
ensuring the participation of other major economies
(including major emerging economies),and on avoiding undue
disruption to the U.S. economy. This degree of consensus on
the U.S. international stance contrasts with the more
divergent views on how the United States should go about
reducing its own emissions.


7. Expectations are high for a new climate agreement-- in
some cases unrealistically high. At the recent UNFCCC talks
in Warsaw (reftel) China and some G-77 representatives
continued to suggest they should receive hundreds of billions
of dollars in new financial aid, without any apparent
commitments on their part to reduce their emissions.
Moreover, some countries continue to call for the United
States to commit to greenhouse gas emissions reductions of
25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 -- a level far deeper than
those proposed by Members of Congress of either party or by
President-elect Obama as a candidate.

8. Action officers interested in a non-governmental
perspective on U.S. participation in a future climate regime
are encouraged to review an article published by the Heinrich
Boll foundation, &The U.S. Elections and Prospects for a New
Climate Agreement8 available at :
http://www.boell.de/climate-transatlantic/ind ex-117.html .
The author suggests that unrealistic expectations over U.S.
positions could weaken prospects for an environmentally
effective international agreement.

9. Action officers are welcome to contact OES/EGC Ed Fendley
or EUR/PGI David Tessler with any questions or comments on
these issues.

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GUIDANCE POINTS
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10. Posts are encouraged to draw from the points below as
they engage host government, NGO, and other local contacts to
discuss the upcoming UNFCCC conference in Poznan and explain

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USG position.

--We remain fully committed to negotiating a post-2012
climate regime that is environmentally effective and
economically sustainable.

--With the change of administration, we fully expect a smooth
transition of our efforts in the climate negotiations.

--At the December climate conference in Poznan and in
subsequent meetings, we will work constructively to ensure
that all of the primary elements of the Bali Action Plan ) a
shared vision, mitigation, adaptation, technology, and
finance ) can come together to form a package approach for
consideration in Copenhagen in 2009.

--The work plan and timeline we have developed for
implementing the Bali Action Plan gives us time to consider
these issues. We consider Poznan to be an important milestone
toward Copenhagen, and that it affords an important
opportunity to share views, take stock and clarify points of
agreement and difference.

--As is the case with all important international endeavors,
our decision to participate in a new climate regime will
involve the U.S. executive branch and the Congress, and we
expect extensive consultations on these issues to continue
over the coming year.

--We expect that the United States and all countries that are
contributing to climate change will take actions to mitigate
their emissions, and that they will report to the
international community on their actions in a measurable and
verifiable manner.

--So that our efforts can be durable and earn support in each
of our countries, we expect that the approach we take will
help, not hinder, our economies.

--There is a longstanding bipartisan consensus in the United
States on the need for developing country participation and
avoiding undue economic harm.

--We noted with interest the EU Environment Council,s recent
suggestion of the need for developing countries, as well as
the United States and other developed countries, to
significantly reduce emissions.

--We hope you agree that it is very important that the
negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change proceed in a way that facilitates U.S. participation.

--We invite you to consider our views on the range of issues
under negotiation.

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Supplementary GUIDANCE Points on U.S. VIEWS
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11. In addition to the points that follow, action officers my
wish to review U.S. submissions to the UNFCCC Ad Hoc Working
Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention,
available at: http://unfccc.int/meetings/items/4381.php

Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions:

--We believe that there needs to be an emphasis on common
aspects of the outcome, not just aspects that are
differentiated among countries. Unchecked emissions growth
from developing countries means we will fail to address
climate change.

---All countries should take on nationally appropriate
mitigation actions.

---All actions should be quantified and reported, and the
progress of each Party should be verified over time.

---All Parties, actions should have the same international
legal character, for example, legally binding, politically
binding or voluntary. That is, the U.S. would accept
internationally binding commitments only if China and other
key countries would also accept them.

Financing and Technology:

--We are working to enhance our partnerships with countries
around the world to increase trade and investment in clean
energy technologies, including through the Asia-Pacific
Partnership, the Global Environment Facility, and the World
Bank Clean Technology Fund (CTF).


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--We believe that any new or enhanced financing tools must
recognize and build on the financial capacity of the
recipient country. Major emerging economies have a level of
financial and technical capacity far greater than two decades
ago.

--It is important to carefully consider what national
governments can be reasonably expected to do through their
own policies and resources, consistent with their obligations
under the Convention.

--We are also mindful of what will be politically palatable
in the U.S. domestic context. We ask whether any of the
finance-related proposals coming forward are likely to be met
with support from the U.S. Congress and members of the public.

Adaptation

--Adaptation to changing climate occurs at national,
regional, and local levels and is an inherent part of
development planning. We believe that discussions over the
next two years can do much to orient actions toward greater
attention to adaptation, and to generate resources for
populations that are most vulnerable to the impacts of
climate change.

--Adaptation is directly linked to development. Success or
failure in adaptation will be determined primarily by the
actions of the country itself. No amount of aid will be as
important as whether governments choose sensible development
paths that increase resiliency to any number of risks. And
private sector support and financing will be a critical
component.

--The UNFCCC can act as a catalyst to mobilize private sector
funding and investment and to build capacity in developing
countries to better take advantage of such financing.
Critical components are sound investment enabling
environments and development policies.
RICE