Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BRUSSELS1033
2009-07-28 14:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
USEU Brussels
Cable title:  

EU GENERALLY POSITIVE ON U.S. CLIMATE POLICY, BUT

Tags:  ECON EIND ENRG EUN EWWT KGHG SENV TPHY TRGY 
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DE RUEHBS #1033/01 2091447
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 281447Z JUL 09 ZDK ZDK - NUMEROUS RETRANS REQUESTS - ZDK ZDK
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001033 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2019
TAGS: ECON EIND ENRG EUN EWWT KGHG SENV TPHY TRGY
TSPL
SUBJECT: EU GENERALLY POSITIVE ON U.S. CLIMATE POLICY, BUT
REMAINS INCONSISTENT ON HOW TO ADDRESS UN NEGOTIATIONS

REF: BRUSSELS 1032

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Chase, Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001033

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2019
TAGS: ECON EIND ENRG EUN EWWT KGHG SENV TPHY TRGY
TSPL
SUBJECT: EU GENERALLY POSITIVE ON U.S. CLIMATE POLICY, BUT
REMAINS INCONSISTENT ON HOW TO ADDRESS UN NEGOTIATIONS

REF: BRUSSELS 1032

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Chase, Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Several EU officials are pleased with the
direction the United States is taking in its climate policy,
but some (notably Germany and France) are looking for more.
However, on several other issues related to the UN
negotiation process, the EU is far from a consolidated
position. (See reftel for description of the EU internal
position.) The main points relayed to USEU EconOff on the
margins of the Informal Council of EU Energy and Environment
Ministers on July 23-25 in Are, Sweden:

-- The EU is committed to an agreement in Copenhagen,
but believes the current pace of negotiations is too slow;
-- Comparability with developed countries remains a
contentious issue among Member States, and there are
disagreements as to how to address the U.S. position;
-- Eastern European countries are more likely to support
the current U.S. policy, but Germany and France appear
willing to identify possible areas of flexibility in
comparability discussions;
-- The consistent position within the EU is the need to
work in cooperation with the United States to engage the
developing world--China and India at the top of the list, but
also Russia and Africa;
-- Given the internal disagreements in the EU, likely to
remain through the end of October, there exist several
avenues to U.S. engagement on many of the key issues,
potentially leading to positive influence of the final
position. End summary.

--------------
EU wants to increase the pace of negotiations
--------------


2. (C) The EU remains committed to and convinced there will
be an agreement in Copenhagen, but is concerned by the amount

of work needed to get there. Swedish Environment Minister
Andreas Carlgren, Member of European Parliament Lena Ek, and
a Finnish delegate all said that negotiations are moving far
too slowly and there needs to be an increase in the pace.
However, the Finnish delegate added that there is somewhat
more optimism after the G-8 and the MEF countries committed
to limiting global temperature rise to two degrees C, and
added that there will likely be more stringent numbers from
some countries.


3. (C) The balance between 2020 emissions reduction targets
for developed countries and mitigation actions for developing
countries has become a source of disagreement among Member
States. Among developed countries, comparability is likely
to become the biggest issue from the EU,s point of view, as
it assesses how to determine if it will move from 20% to 30%
reductions by 2020. A Finnish delegate argued that binding
targets will be difficult in negotiations because of the
comparability question; setting criteria is a &waste of
time8 because of differences in national realities. She
recommended looking into domestically-focused situations
where there could be flexibility. A French delegate was more
direct, explaining that the United States is the EU,s single
focus regarding comparability. The EU will publicly state
that Japan and Canada are important, but in reality, those
countries will carry much less weight than the United States.
In addition, debate is beginning to emerge within the EU as
to the midterm target date. A Slovakian official explained
that a conversation is developing on the possibility of using
a date between 2025 and 2030 as the midterm, adding that the
idea is gaining steam because a later date looks better for
the Eastern European Member States. A French delegate
conceded as well that 2020 is not a &magic year,8 though it
is politically relevant in Europe, but argued that 2030
starts to stretch a little too far for realistic targets.


4. (C) Financing is also contentious for the EU at the
moment, and Finance Ministers have yet to put forth concrete
proposals. The general consensus is that the developed world
can not pay for everything and that there must be actions by
developing countries in order to secure financing, but beyond
that, the EU,s position becomes less clear. Some countries,
including Poland, believe financial instruments need to be
put on the table immediately to engage China. However,

BRUSSELS 00001033 002 OF 003


Germany has argued that nothing should be given away
immediately, as the developing countries will simply take
that without giving anything back, and then ask for more.
According to a French delegate, financing cannot be looked at
alone, rather mitigation and financing must be balanced, as
any gap between the two will make it very difficult to
achieve an agreement. The EU is anxious to hear the
proposals from other Annex I countries, specifically the
United States, but a Finnish delegate expects that in the
end, the EU will be the first to put something on the table
in October.

-------------- --------------
EU pleased with steps in U.S., but looking for more
-------------- --------------


5. (C) The shift in climate policy in the United States
remains a positive factor for most EU countries. Although
Germany and France remain critical of less stringent targets,
both believe there are paths to solve the disagreement. A
Polish delegate, despite noting that Poland remains upset it
is not a member of the MEF, said that President Obama,s
policy has been well received and has sent a good signal to
other countries. A Maltese delegate supported that position,
stating that the positive signals from the United States are
echoing in the EU. Finland believes that the negotiations
would not even be where they are today without the United
States and appreciates the fact that the United States is
strongly engaging China.


6. (C) That said, delegates from Germany and France claimed
that the United States has not gone far enough, noting that
the 25-40% IPCC range is critical to bring along the
developing world. However, both provided insights into what
they feel the United States can do to supplement the current
efforts. The French delegate, explaining that he understands
the dynamic between the Administration and Congress and
highlighting President Obama,s statement in Italy that the
United States will not sign up to what it cannot meet,
believes that a lot can be achieved if countries make it
clear that they think there is a need to do more. In the
case of the United States, he argued that the offsets
available in the draft American Clean Energy and Security Act
(ACESA) give the United States flexibility. More
international action now and taking up increased domestic
action later to raise the target is a reasonable approach.
He would like to be able to present the U.S. position in
these terms as it will help move others, but he understands
the Administration,s wariness to do so ahead of actions in
the Senate. Environment Commissioner Dimas, speaking on
behalf of the Commission, made a similar statement publicly,
that ACESA allows for flexibility, notably in avoided
deforestation, in the U.S. target. A German delegate focused
the conversation around the two degree C benchmark, saying
that if the United States can make the case that it is
seriously trying to get on a two degree C path and invest in
climate technologies, there will be more room to work.
Eastern Member States are taking a different perspective,
with a Slovakian official explaining that if the United
States is considered comparable as stands under ACESA, it is
better for the Eastern Member States, as they will not be
asked to do much more.

-------------- --------------
EU wants to cooperate with U.S. on developing world
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Despite the disparate views among the Member States on
how to approach the negotiations internationally, there was a
consensus that the United States and the EU should work
together to bring the developing world along. China was the
focal point of discussions, and a German delegate explained
that it is not Germany,s intention to &let developing
countries off the hook8 and is looking for further dialogue
with the United States on how to engage China. Poland and
Malta added that they do not believe China is as engaged as
necessary, and that the focus should be on ensuring China
understands the economic benefits by shifting to a low-carbon
economy.


8. (C) A Finnish delegate, speaking from Finland,s close
relationship with Russia, expressed the opinion that Russia
will be difficult--possibly more so than China--and will need

BRUSSELS 00001033 003 OF 003


a lot of high level attention. The delegate explained that
during a recent meeting in Moscow, it became apparent that
Russia feels as though it neither gained from Kyoto nor
received the attention or benefit it felt it deserves from
its efforts to agree to the Protocol. The delegate says
Russia is taking things seriously now that it believes the
United States is committed. Russian representatives
recognize that climate change might be harmful economically,
and given that it has missed a lot of opportunity in the
past, the Finnish delegate thinks that it could accept a 35%
emissions reduction target quite easily.


9. (C) Several delegates noted the lack of attention being
paid to Africa. A French delegate said that there is a huge
untapped potential in energy infrastructure development in
Africa, and with close to a population of one billion, it is
critical the developed world engage. Separately, the
delegate believes that Africa can be helpful to the United
States and the EU, if those countries believe there is a
benefit, such as adaptation infrastructure support. He added
that the United States and the EU could cooperate to mobilize
African countries to push China and India to act.

--------------
Comment
--------------


10. (C) The EU remains divided internally in how it will
develop its negotiating position and in how it plans to
approach the rest of the world. The EU is looking to
maintain what it believes is a leadership role but recognizes
the importance of engagement with the United States,
particularly vis-a-vis the developing world. Eastern Europe
is much more supportive of efforts already taken by the
United States, and if those countries solidify their bloc
within the EU, they could prove to be a productive
negotiating partner. Separately while France and Germany
appreciate the strides taken by the administration, they
continue to push for more, much of it driven by pressures at
home. However, they appear receptive to trying to move past
those concerns for the greater cause of bringing along the
developing world, and seem at least generally focused on
identifying alternative paths for comparability. The
Commission also likely will remain an ally, as it recognizes
the importance of the United States and the EU remaining
coordinated to work with China, India, and others. As the EU
has not yet solidified its position and approach to the
negotiations, and probably will not until toward the end of
October, there are several levers available to shape the
EU,s stance for the benefit of the U.S. negotiating
position. End comment.

CHASE
.