Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09LAPAZ1597
2009-12-11 13:02:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy La Paz
Cable title:
President Morales will Travel to COP-15 to Advocate for
how-toVZCZCXYZ0127 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHLP #1597/01 3451302 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 111302Z DEC 09 FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0212 INFO RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 0004 RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0023 RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS LA PAZ 001597
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV KGHG BL
SUBJECT: President Morales will Travel to COP-15 to Advocate for
Mother Earth Rights
UNCLAS LA PAZ 001597
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV KGHG BL
SUBJECT: President Morales will Travel to COP-15 to Advocate for
Mother Earth Rights
1. (U) SUMMARY: President Morales confirmed December 8th that he
will attend the 15th Conference of the Parties under the UN Climate
Change Convention (COP-15). He will travel to Denmark from Cuba
where this weekend he will attend the ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative
for the Americas) 5th Anniversary celebration. RenC) Gonzalo
Orellana, Minister of Environment and Water, will travel with him.
The Bolivian delegation already at the conference includes Pablo
Salon as Climate Change Ambassador and AngC)lica Navarro as Head of
the Delegation. The GOB also announced that it will make its
formal climate change position public in the near term. Morales
will use his attendance at COP-15 to confront prosperous countries
and to promote his contention that the developed world must pay its
"ecological debt" to humanity. END SUMMARY.
2. (U) One of the most biodiverse and poorest countries in Latin
America, and home to approximately 20% of the world's tropical
glaciers, Bolivia is vulnerable to climate change impacts. These
include reduced food security, water shortages, more numerous and
more intense weather events, greater prevalence of insect-borne
diseases (e.g., malaria and dengue),and more frequent and more
severe forest fires. A recent OXFAM report on climate change in
Bolivia reports that many rural farmers and provincial residents
believe that the climate is changing and that frequency and
magnitude of damage caused by climate events is increasing. A
strong local constituency believes that it is a great injustice
that poor communities in Latin America have to pay such a high
price for a situation they had little responsibility for creating.
3. (U) The GOB has picked up these themes and is leading a group
of countries advocating that climate change is not just an
environmental issue, but also a development issue. Morales'
original 20-point list of demands is the toughest line taken by any
national leader. He has repeatedly referred to "savage capitalism"
as the worst enemy of humanity and his standard line is that
capitalism is responsible for creating global warming. He
concludes that developed countries need to pay back developing
countries for both a mitigation and adaptation climate change debt
to the tune of 1% of each country's GDP.
4. (U) The GOB of Bolivia has indicated that it will unveil its
formal climate change proposal in conjunction with the President's
trip and has begun releasing components, including Morales' latest
proposal for developing countries to exchange their international
debt for the developed world's "ecological debt." The GOB climate
change position also includes the establishment of an international
Climate Justice Court; a contention that climate change
mitigation/adaptation technologies should not be subject to patent
or other IPR restrictions; promotion of the REDD+ Program (Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation); and inclusion
of "Mother Earth Rights" in the final Document of the COP. Morales
has added that he would like the new climate change declaration to
include four basic principles: ecosystems' right to life, the
right for biodiversity to regenerate, the right to live without
contamination, and the right to live in harmony with nature.
5. (SBU) Brazilian Political Counselor Julio Bitelli told us the
GOB took a hard-line at the recent Manaus summit organized by
President Lula to discuss climate change issues, refusing to sign
the summit declaration. Bitelli expects the GOB to maintain a
hard-line especially since Morales will travel to the ALBA
conference December 13-14 in Havana to establish a common ALBA
stance. Bitelli noted that there will be no moderating force
present in Havana. Danish Ambassador Morten Elkjaer told us
separately that the GOB has maintained its radical position in
conversations with the European Union. Elkjaer said Morales will
meet with the Danish government to discuss clean energy
technologies, but he does not expect the GOB to play a constructive
role at the Copenhagen conference.
Creamer
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV KGHG BL
SUBJECT: President Morales will Travel to COP-15 to Advocate for
Mother Earth Rights
1. (U) SUMMARY: President Morales confirmed December 8th that he
will attend the 15th Conference of the Parties under the UN Climate
Change Convention (COP-15). He will travel to Denmark from Cuba
where this weekend he will attend the ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative
for the Americas) 5th Anniversary celebration. RenC) Gonzalo
Orellana, Minister of Environment and Water, will travel with him.
The Bolivian delegation already at the conference includes Pablo
Salon as Climate Change Ambassador and AngC)lica Navarro as Head of
the Delegation. The GOB also announced that it will make its
formal climate change position public in the near term. Morales
will use his attendance at COP-15 to confront prosperous countries
and to promote his contention that the developed world must pay its
"ecological debt" to humanity. END SUMMARY.
2. (U) One of the most biodiverse and poorest countries in Latin
America, and home to approximately 20% of the world's tropical
glaciers, Bolivia is vulnerable to climate change impacts. These
include reduced food security, water shortages, more numerous and
more intense weather events, greater prevalence of insect-borne
diseases (e.g., malaria and dengue),and more frequent and more
severe forest fires. A recent OXFAM report on climate change in
Bolivia reports that many rural farmers and provincial residents
believe that the climate is changing and that frequency and
magnitude of damage caused by climate events is increasing. A
strong local constituency believes that it is a great injustice
that poor communities in Latin America have to pay such a high
price for a situation they had little responsibility for creating.
3. (U) The GOB has picked up these themes and is leading a group
of countries advocating that climate change is not just an
environmental issue, but also a development issue. Morales'
original 20-point list of demands is the toughest line taken by any
national leader. He has repeatedly referred to "savage capitalism"
as the worst enemy of humanity and his standard line is that
capitalism is responsible for creating global warming. He
concludes that developed countries need to pay back developing
countries for both a mitigation and adaptation climate change debt
to the tune of 1% of each country's GDP.
4. (U) The GOB of Bolivia has indicated that it will unveil its
formal climate change proposal in conjunction with the President's
trip and has begun releasing components, including Morales' latest
proposal for developing countries to exchange their international
debt for the developed world's "ecological debt." The GOB climate
change position also includes the establishment of an international
Climate Justice Court; a contention that climate change
mitigation/adaptation technologies should not be subject to patent
or other IPR restrictions; promotion of the REDD+ Program (Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation); and inclusion
of "Mother Earth Rights" in the final Document of the COP. Morales
has added that he would like the new climate change declaration to
include four basic principles: ecosystems' right to life, the
right for biodiversity to regenerate, the right to live without
contamination, and the right to live in harmony with nature.
5. (SBU) Brazilian Political Counselor Julio Bitelli told us the
GOB took a hard-line at the recent Manaus summit organized by
President Lula to discuss climate change issues, refusing to sign
the summit declaration. Bitelli expects the GOB to maintain a
hard-line especially since Morales will travel to the ALBA
conference December 13-14 in Havana to establish a common ALBA
stance. Bitelli noted that there will be no moderating force
present in Havana. Danish Ambassador Morten Elkjaer told us
separately that the GOB has maintained its radical position in
conversations with the European Union. Elkjaer said Morales will
meet with the Danish government to discuss clean energy
technologies, but he does not expect the GOB to play a constructive
role at the Copenhagen conference.
Creamer