VIETNAM OK WITH COP 15

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001440

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, OES/EGC, OES/STC
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE, G/ENV, EGAT/ESP
EPA FOR OIA (MARK KASMAN, KATHERINE BUCKLEY, RAKHI KASAT)
STATE PASS TO NOAA/NOS/OIA (JONATHAN JUSTI)
USDA FOR FOREST SERVICE/INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS (CYNTHIA MACKIE AND ELIZABETH LEBOW)
INTERIOR FOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (GREG SMITH, STANLEY PONCE, JANINE POWELL )
BANGKOK PASS TO RDMA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ENRG ECON KGHG VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM OK WITH COP 15

REF: HANOI 1246; HANOI 670


1. (SBU) Summary: The Vietnamese climate change negotiating team
is pleased with the results of the Conference of the Parties-15
(COP-15) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
in Copenhagen and will recommend to the Prime Minister that Vietnam
officially support the Copenhagen Accord. A Vietnamese negotiator
cited the positive role played by President Obama and noted his
satisfaction that the final agreement took into account the
positions of a broad swath of countries participating in
Copenhagen. Looking forward, the Government of Vietnam (GVN) does
not want to see the Kyoto Protocol dismantled, but supports
amending the document to require all large emitters, not just
developed nations, to commit to specific emission reductions.
Further, proposed financing discussed at COP-15 should target the
countries most vulnerable to climate change (including Vietnam),as
opposed to all developing nations. The state-controlled media was
more critical of Copenhagen, but primarily focused on the positive
role played by the Vietnamese delegation, and highlighting recent
assistance commitments from development partners. End Summary.



Vietnamese Delegation Pleased with Copenhagen

--------------




2. (SBU) Mr. Pham Van Tan, the Deputy Director General for
International Cooperation at the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment (MONRE) and a member of the Vietnamese negotiating team
at COP-15, told ESTHOff the Copenhagen Accord was a good agreement
given the constraints under which the negotiators operated and
believed that major economies and emitters reached a basic
consensus on initial steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Vietnam understood that the document was not binding but felt that
it reflected a necessary first step that will be improved upon
through ongoing dialogue. Though the GVN team had departed Denmark
prior to the final agreement, they had analyzed the document and
are drafting a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
recommending that Vietnam support the Accord. According to Mr.
Tan, Vietnam will then begin corresponding with the UNFCCC
Secretariat to detail Vietnam's mitigation actions.




3. (SBU) Vietnam felt that most of its goals going into the
conference were met and that Vietnam succeeded in raising its
profile at the conference. Prime Minister Dung met with 11 other
heads of state and international organizations, other high ranking
GVN delegation members had another 20 policy-level meetings during
the conference and that Dung received an excellent timeslot for his
speech to the assembly. Though Vietnam did not have any specific
goals for financial commitments at the COP-15, Tan felt that
potential donors acknowledged the need to provide monetary and
technical support. For example, the Prime Minister, the MONRE
Minister and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development will
attend a bilateral discussion with the Netherlands in early 2010 to
detail technical and financial assistance.



Praise for President Obama and

Request for Additional Cooperation

--------------

HANOI 00001440 002 OF 003



4. (SBU) Tan praised the role of President Obama and noted that
U.S. leadership was crucial to reaching a final agreement. MONRE
Minister Pham Khoi Nguyen, the Deputy Head of Vietnam's delegation,
was pleased that he had the opportunity to meet with high-level
members of the U.S. delegation. Vietnam hopes the United States
will follow up on Nguyen's request to build on existing
U.S.-Vietnamese climate change cooperation, such as the Delta
Research and Global Observation Network (DRAGON) Institute at Can
Tho University and the U.S.-Vietnam Climate Change Working Group
announced during the Prime Minister's 2008 visit to the United
States, and would assist Vietnam to strengthen its
hydro-meteorological capacity to better respond to climate change.
The GVN also welcomed U.S. assistance at internal GVN meetings
early in 2010 to review and modify the Vietnamese approach to
international negotiations.



Vietnam Sees Less G-77 Solidarity

--------------




5. (SBU) The Vietnamese delegation felt that the G-77 umbrella now
included countries with varied opinions on climate change responses
and the mitigation responsibilities of each nation. While Vietnam
had participated in two years of preparatory meetings with the
G-77, it did not feel that it had to follow the guidance of China,
India or other large developing nations. Similarly, while Vietnam
worked closely with other ASEAN members in preparation for COP-15
and at the conference itself, it understood that each country had
its own position and that no single member could speak for ASEAN.



Vietnam Wants All Large Emitters

to Commit to Emission Reductions

--------------




6. (SBU) Moving forward, Vietnam would like to see more details and
clarity in the agreement reached in Copenhagen and for the Accord
to become binding. Additionally, Vietnam strongly supports the
continuation of the Kyoto protocol and opposed what Vietnam viewed
as efforts by some countries, including Japan, to scuttle it. At
the same time, Vietnam will seek to amend Kyoto annexes to require
developed countries to agree to deeper emission cuts and for all
major greenhouse gas emitters, not simply developed countries, to
commit to emission reductions. Vietnam will also focus its efforts
on ensuring that the financing agreed to at Copenhagen targets the
nations most vulnerable to climate change, including Vietnam.
Large developing nations with adequate financial resources should
not have access to these funds.



Media Less Positive on COP-15,

Focuses on Vietnam's Contributions

--------------




7. (U) Vietnam's state-controlled media has been rather muted in
its coverage of Copenhagen, possibly because the Prime Minister has
yet to formally approve the country's position. Instead, local
media has largely printed excerpts from foreign outlets focusing on

HANOI 00001440 003 OF 003


international opinions of the negotiations and final agreement.
Print reports noted the inability of many countries to move beyond
their parochial interests and stated that the final Accord was
somewhat disappointing after two years of negotiations. At the
same time, the domestic press highlighted the positive role played
by Vietnam at the negotiations and the global recognition Vietnam
received as a nation at the forefront of the fight against climate
change. In the days following the conclusion of the conference,
reports stressed recent commitments from development partners, such
as Denmark the Netherlands and Japan, to assist Vietnam's climate
change efforts, while noting potential U.S. cooperation.
Michalak