SENATOR KERRY DISCUSSES U.S.-CHINA CLIMATE CHANGE COOPERATION ON COPENHAGEN WITH CHINA'S VICE PREMIER LI KEQIANG

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/29/2019

TAGS: ENRG, SENV, KGHG, CH

SUBJECT: SENATOR KERRY DISCUSSES U.S.-CHINA CLIMATE CHANGE

COOPERATION ON COPENHAGEN WITH CHINA'S VICE PREMIER LI

KEQIANG



Classified By: Classified by: A/DCM William Weinstein for Reasons 1.4 (

b),(d)



Summary

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1. (SBU) Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John

Kerry met Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang May 27 for a wide

ranging and frank discussion on climate change cooperation.

Li seized on Kerry's proposal for deeper cooperation on green

technology research, calling this "immediately realistic."

Both sides agreed that energy policy is tied to climate

change, and that there is a great potential and market for

increased cooperation on energy conservation, emissions

reduction, and other areas. In response to Senator Kerry's

proposal that China commit to continued reportable,

measurable, and verifiable emissions reductions at the

December 2009 United Nations climate change meeting in

Copenhagen, Li pledged that China would participate

constructively and seek a positive and reasonable outcome.

Li said that China is seeking to overcome the financial

crisis partly by restructuring its economy to promote

sustainability. End Summary.



Cooperation Can Redefine Bilateral Relations

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2. (SBU) Senator Kerry began the meeting by noting President

Obama's belief that the world needs to "change its energy

base" to chart a path to more sustainable economic growth.

Energy policy will be vital to growth now, just as the

communications revolution was at the end of the last century,

and is the key to successfully addressing the global climate

change, he added. Energy policy cooperation also could

redefine a closer, positive U.S.-China relationship.



Cooperation Would Require Three Commitments, Bring Benefits

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3. (SBU) Kerry added that he understands China's resistance

to accepting mandatory targets at the United Nations Climate

Conference, which will take place in Copenhagen in December

2009. Instead, he outlined a new basis for "major

cooperation" between the United States and China on climate

change, one derived from the principle of "common but

differentiated responsibilities." Specifically, all

countries would agree that they share a responsibility for

decreasing emissions, but whereas the United States and other

developed countries would accept mandatory targets,

developing countries like China would instead continue to

"work hard to reduce emissions." This would require China to

commit to: (a) defining mutual responsibilities to ensure

success; (b) continuing to decrease emissions; and (c)

agreeing to make emissions reductions measurable, reportable,

and verifiable.



4. (SBU) This new framework would show to U.S., Chinese, and

international observers, including the U.S. Congress, that

the United States and China together were taking concrete

steps to address climate change and that solving the problem

did not require a confrontational approach. U.S.-China

cooperation would make the Copenhagen event a success, he

commented. If the two nations that account for almost half

of CO2 emissions move in unison, the other 15 countries that

together account for 30% of emissions would follow, he said.

Sustainable energy investment also benefits economic growth,

he concluded.



China Committed to Successful Copenhagen, on its Terms

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5. (SBU) Vice Premier Li Keqiang responded that the strong

U.S.-China relationship provides a firm basis for

cooperation. The two countries should work together to

"elevate" the relationship and make it more "dynamic." Li

said China is actively preparing for the Copenhagen meeting,

will participate in a positive and constructive way, and will

work to ensure a positive and reasonable outcome. China

already agrees on the need to decrease emissions to protect

the environment, sustain development, and achieve



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modernization. Regarding the specific modalities, those

would be subject to negotiation and international consensus.



6. (SBU) Li added that negotiations need to account for the

complexities of global trade and development. For example,

China manufactures and exports a solar energy battery to

developed countries. When in use, the product is energy

efficient, but its production is energy intensive and

polluting. Negotiations also must reflect per capita and

historical emissions, he said.



China Seeks Immediate, Concrete Bilateral Cooperation

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7. (SBU) At the same time, there is room right now for China

and the United States to work more closely on climate change,

Li said. Joint research on green technologies is

"immediately realistic," he said. The two countries should

have deeper cooperation, not just dialogue. Both sides agree

that energy policy is tied to climate change. There is a

great potential and market for increased cooperation on

energy conservation, emissions reduction, and other areas, Li

said, specifically acknowledging several ideas that Senator

Kerry outlined. Li added that cooperation on advanced

scientific research would be valuable. China seeks to

connect Chinese researchers with foreign counterparts, he

noted. Li added that China encourages the purchase of U.S.

technology and products and that China wishes the United

States would lift high technology export restrictions. Li

said that he hopes China and the United States will soon be

able to point to specific advanced technology demonstration

projects.



China Wants to Balance Growth and Sustainability

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8. (SBU) Li explained that China is seeking to overcome the

financial crisis partly by restructuring its economy to

promote sustainability. This restructuring includes

encouraging environmental protection, emissions reduction,

energy efficiency, and technological upgrade. Efforts to

tackle the crisis should be linked to climate change, he

said. As the United States pursues a "green New Deal," China

will also do its part to encourage green technologies. At

the same time, as a developing country, China must balance

this goal with the need to continue to maintain growth and

increase living standards, he explained. At this stage in

China's development, he added, China's aggregate emissions

were likely to continue to rise, but China was taking

effective measures to ensure that its energy intensity per

unit of GDP was declining.



United States Ready to Move Forward on Concrete Projects

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9. (SBU) Senator Kerry responded that the United States is

ready to move beyond rhetorical agreements on bilateral

climate cooperation and "put flesh on the bones." He added

that the United States hopes that China is ready to discuss

how to bring to life specific ideas when State Department

Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern visits Beijing in

June 2009. For example, the United States has solar

technology that efficiently and cleanly provides enough

energy to replace some of China's most polluting coal-fired

power plants. He also mentioned two technologies under

development in the United States that capture and use carbon

dioxide to manufacture building materials and jet fuel and

another breakthrough in the field of solar energy. The

United States and China should jointly explore projects like

these, Kerry said. Li responded that Kerry's visit had

helped to set the stage for those discussions.



10. (SBU) Senator Kerry added that before the United States

passed the Clean Air Act in 1990, companies had lobbied

vigorously against the measure. In the end, it cost far less

and took less time to achieve its goals than expected because

those who objected to the law had failed to account for the

fact that a decisive signal from the government can set the

market to work in exploring and creating efficient new



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solutions to problems.



11. (SBU) As for the Copenhagen meeting, Kerry cautioned

against getting sidetracked on topics like per capita

emissions when net emissions is what impacts the planet. The

United States is not asking China not to generate the energy

it needs, but to work together to meet energy demand in a way

that costs less in the long run. If China and the United

States committed at Copenhagen to account for the cost of

carbon, it would lead to major, beneficial change in the two

economies. China already has in place the workings of a

system to measure, verify and report emissions reductions, he

said.



Sustainability Promotes Growth

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12. (SBU) On the balance between growth and sustainability,

Kerry said the United States agrees that global growth is a

key priority, but he urged Li not to separate economic growth

from the energy challenges to which they are integrally

linked. He added that China could ignite external demand by

buying more products from the United States. Buying products

that benefit China's environment would also decrease

emissions and give China credit at the Copenhagen meeting.

More importantly, Kerry said, economic growth data do not

account for pollution costs. Growth figures reflect the cost

of burning coal, but not the resulting acid rain,

agricultural impact, diseases, poisoned waters and toxic air.

The United States has spent billions of dollars cleaning up

its mistakes. There is no limit on China's growth, but China

can choose to grow in a new paradigm and avoid the costly

mistakes other developed countries have made.



Comment: China Ready to Expand Cooperation

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13. (C) Vice Premier Li is widely expected to take over as

Premier from Wen Jiabao in two years. In his current

capacity, he oversees the National Development and Reform

Commission of the State Council, the Ministry of

Environmental Protection and other agencies that play key

roles in setting China's climate policies. His overall frank

exchange of views with Senator Kerry and straightforward

expression of interest in concrete projects should be taken

as a signal that China has caught on at a top level to the

new U.S. administration's identification of climate change as

a key bilateral priority. At the same time, as is the case

in many other topics, when it comes to multilateral

discussions, China is not ready to make "concessions" until

it knows what it can secure in return.

PICCUTA