Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BRUSSELS538
2009-04-08 14:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Brussels
Cable title:
BELGIUM: ENCOURAGED BY USG CLIMATE CHANGE
how-toVZCZCXRO2640 RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO DE RUEHBS #0538 0981420 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 081420Z APR 09 ZDK FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8826 INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS BRUSSELS 000538
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/PGI DAVID TESSLER AND OES ED FENDLEY
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV BE
SUBJECT: BELGIUM: ENCOURAGED BY USG CLIMATE CHANGE
POSITION, BUT SEEKS MORE DATA
Summary
--------
UNCLAS BRUSSELS 000538
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/PGI DAVID TESSLER AND OES ED FENDLEY
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV BE
SUBJECT: BELGIUM: ENCOURAGED BY USG CLIMATE CHANGE
POSITION, BUT SEEKS MORE DATA
Summary
--------------
1. (SBU) Econoffs met March 26 with Mr. Geert Fremout and
Mr. Peter Winnoeck of the Belgian Ministry of Environment and
Health, to discuss the Bonn talks on global warming. Econoff
discussed many of the ten principles from Special Envoy on
Climate Change (SECC) Todd Stern's March 3 speech at the U.S.
Climate Action Symposium. Fremout, who is heading Belgium's
delegation to Bonn, was largely positive about the positions
the SECC made in his speech, but said he would like to see
the numbers behind the SECC's assertion in his speech that
the United States could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by
less than 25-40 percent by 2020 and then catch up to 80
percent by taking a steeper path between 2020 and 2050. Both
Fremout and Winnoeck felt that if the United States cut its
emissions less leading up to 2020, other countries and
regions (including the European Union) would also cut their
emissions less. Fremout otherwise indicated that Belgium saw
the Bonn meetings as being a useful stage of countries
talking about their positions, and hoped there would be a
focus on mitigation efforts.
2. (SBU) Fremout and Winnoeck also asked whether the U.S.
reductions were domestic only or also involved foreign
offsets via flexible mechanisms. They said they thought
Belgium could reach 30 percent reduction by 2020, with 50
percent of the reduction coming from flexible mechanism
foreign offsets, but added they were under pressure by
Belgian industry to do less domestically. They asked whether
the United States had estimates for costs imposed on industry
to meet its 2020 emission reduction goals (at whatever level).
3. (SBU) On China, Fremout asked whether the USG had any
response to China's recent suggestion that importing
countries bear the carbon cost of the products imported, not
the producing countries. Fremout said the European Union did
not have an opinion so far, but noted that the Chinese
suggestion runs counter to the long-standing understanding
that a country was responsible for the emissions on its
territory.
BUSH
.
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/PGI DAVID TESSLER AND OES ED FENDLEY
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV BE
SUBJECT: BELGIUM: ENCOURAGED BY USG CLIMATE CHANGE
POSITION, BUT SEEKS MORE DATA
Summary
--------------
1. (SBU) Econoffs met March 26 with Mr. Geert Fremout and
Mr. Peter Winnoeck of the Belgian Ministry of Environment and
Health, to discuss the Bonn talks on global warming. Econoff
discussed many of the ten principles from Special Envoy on
Climate Change (SECC) Todd Stern's March 3 speech at the U.S.
Climate Action Symposium. Fremout, who is heading Belgium's
delegation to Bonn, was largely positive about the positions
the SECC made in his speech, but said he would like to see
the numbers behind the SECC's assertion in his speech that
the United States could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by
less than 25-40 percent by 2020 and then catch up to 80
percent by taking a steeper path between 2020 and 2050. Both
Fremout and Winnoeck felt that if the United States cut its
emissions less leading up to 2020, other countries and
regions (including the European Union) would also cut their
emissions less. Fremout otherwise indicated that Belgium saw
the Bonn meetings as being a useful stage of countries
talking about their positions, and hoped there would be a
focus on mitigation efforts.
2. (SBU) Fremout and Winnoeck also asked whether the U.S.
reductions were domestic only or also involved foreign
offsets via flexible mechanisms. They said they thought
Belgium could reach 30 percent reduction by 2020, with 50
percent of the reduction coming from flexible mechanism
foreign offsets, but added they were under pressure by
Belgian industry to do less domestically. They asked whether
the United States had estimates for costs imposed on industry
to meet its 2020 emission reduction goals (at whatever level).
3. (SBU) On China, Fremout asked whether the USG had any
response to China's recent suggestion that importing
countries bear the carbon cost of the products imported, not
the producing countries. Fremout said the European Union did
not have an opinion so far, but noted that the Chinese
suggestion runs counter to the long-standing understanding
that a country was responsible for the emissions on its
territory.
BUSH
.