CONGRESSMAN MARKEY SHOWS OPTIMISM IN VIDEO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001331 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EIND ENRG EUN EWWT KGHG SENV TPHY TRGY, TSPL SUBJECT: CONGRESSMAN MARKEY SHOWS OPTIMISM IN VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH EUROPEAN COMMISSION BRUSSELS 00001331 001.7 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and co-author of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES, also known as Waxman-Markey),told Commission officials and reporters that the Senate could pass similar legislation prior to Copenhagen on September 29. The ChairmanQs DVC with three of the CommissionQs chief climate officials - Karl Falkenberg, Director General for DG Environment; Matthew Baldwin, climate and energy advisor to President Barroso; and Nancy Kontou, Chief of Staff to Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas - was well received and elicited several themes: -- Concern on the part of the Commission that the Senate will not act on climate legislation during this year, as both administration and Congressional priorities are with health care. The Chairman explained that there was no confidence in Waxman-Markey either, but it passed in record time; -- The Commission remains solely focused on Copenhagen and is concerned that both inertia in the Senate and the lack of pressure from the administration will leave the United States without a mandate to negotiate. The Chairman expressed confidence in the Senate, noting that most of the stakeholders were addressed by Waxman-Markey and that several Senators are pushing to complete as much as possible by Copenhagen; and -- Linking carbon markets is almost as important to the Commission as agreement in Copenhagen, but some provisions in Waxman-Markey, including border measures and price collars, are causing concern. End summary. Chairman Markey Confident of Senate Success -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Chairman Markey took advantage of the he Commir2t to arkeyQan acknowledged the challenge of health care, but said that the healQh care debate, when successful, should add momentum to the climate legislation. He also noted that since the bill has already been completed in the House, it will be more difficult for several Senators to vote against a comparable bill, particularly those who have endorsed climate legislation in the past. Target Remains Copenhagen -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Falkenberg appreciated the ChairmanQs optimism, but continued to express doubt that the Senate would be far enough along for the administration to negotiate strongly in Copenhagen. He noted that there are only 68 days left before Copenhagen, and the world is watching what is happening in the United States. Many, particularly China and India, want to see concrete content from the United States, and while Falkenberg is BRUSSELS 00001331 002 OF 003 ///////////////ZFR///////////ZFR///////////ZF R//////// CABLE WILL BE RELEASED UNDER NEW MRN /////////////ZFR////////////ZFR////////////ZF R//////// BRUSSELS 00001331 003.2 OF 003 //////////////ZFR///////////ZFR////////////ZF R//////// CABLE WILL BE RELEASE UNDER NEW MRN ////////////ZFR/////////////ZFR//////////ZFR/ //////// MURRAY