DEMARCHE ON CLIMATE CHANGE COOPERATION: SWEDEN

UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000204 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCHG SENV ECON PGOV EUN SW SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON CLIMATE CHANGE COOPERATION: SWEDEN AGREES ON NEED FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO COMMIT; EU LIKELY TO STICK WITH MIDTERM GOAL OF 30 PERCENT REDUCTION BY 2020 REF: STATE 24257 ¶1. (SBU) The Ambassador met with the PM's advisor on foreign policy State Secretary Nicola Clase to deliver reftel demarche on March 11. The Ambassador stressed that the President is firmly committed to joining an international agreement. Now it is time for the US and the EU to work closely together. He focused on two issues, and asked for Swedish support on both at the March 13-14 European Council meeting: the EU should join us in insisting that China, India, Brazil and the other major developing countries agree in principle to make binding commitments, to be negotiated individually through the UNFCC negotiations; the EU should adopt a realistic mid-term carbon mitigation goal rather than calling for all Annex I countries to reduce 25-40 percent from 1990 levels, by 2020. ¶2. (SBU) Clase said she would attend the European Council meeting with PM Reinfeldt. The Swedish government also saw the need for the EU to work very closely with the US to ensure a successful outcome in the UNFCC negotiations. She also was concerned that there was no formal prepcon for the UNFCC Conference of Parties meetings. She agreed that such an agreement, to be successful, would require commitments from the developing countries. PM Reinfeldt will have a chance to discuss these issues with the Chinese president and prime minister in a mid-April visit to China and Japan. She had visited India in February, and relayed an Indian concern that they not be lumped together with China. She suggested we highlight the different circumstances of the developing countries. She did not directly address the EU mid-term mitigation goal, only saying there would only be full EU agreement by the end of the French Presidency in December 2008 on the EC proposal. She did note that former Eastern bloc EU members have a data problem with using the UN base year of 1990, because they claim (she said raising her eyebrows) they don't have good data for that year. ¶3. (SBU) In a follow-up March 12, DCM and Econ Counselor met with Environment Ministry State Secretary Asa-Britt Karlsson and Ambassador Erik Hammarskjold, who oversee Swedish climate change negotiations. Karlsson adopted the same position as Clase. She stressed "we know the US is doing good work to reach an international agreement." She said Sweden understands the need to have China and India make commitments as part of such an agreement. But she noted little flexibility on the EU mid-term goal. She said the EU environment ministers had adopted on March 3 the goal of a 30 percent reduction by 2020, from 1990 levels, as the goal for Annex I countries. She said there needs to be a united EU position by Christmas 2008 for the international negotiations to proceed on schedule. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: The Swedes can probably achieve the goal of a 30 percent reduction by 2020, because their power sector is independent of fossil fuels (a mix of nuclear and hydro energy). But they tacitly recognize that many other EU members cannot possibly do so especially without the EU regional reallocation allowed to date by the UN negotiations. They have a somewhat different philosophy, stressing the need to set high goals. However, they will also be among the EU members advocating for closer consultations with us as the negotiations proceed. WOOD