Demarche Delivered: Energy and Climate Partnership of the

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000396 SIPDIS DOE FOR LINDA EINSTEIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ENRG SENV KGHG KSUM NS SUBJECT: Demarche Delivered: Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas REF: 09 STATE 114913; 09 PARAMARIBO 107 ¶1. (SBU) On November 17, EconOff conveyed the points in Ref. A to Tom Kartoebi, Acting Head of the Americas Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When asked for what potential activities may interest the Government of Suriname (GOS),Kartoebi did not have any explicit suggestions other than that "regional [energy] efficiency standards could be useful [to the region]." After Econoff mentioned suggestions from Ref. B, such as rising sea levels and compensation for rainforest conservation efforts, Kartoebi concurred that these energy and climate issues were still applicable to CARICOM. ¶2. (SBU) Post delivered via dipnote a courtesy copy of Secretary Chu's invitation on November 6. ¶3. (SBU) COMMENT. The environmental portfolio spans several GOS ministries. The GOS Ministry of Physical Planning, Land, and Forestry Management; the Ministry of Labor, Technology, and Environment; and the Ministry of Development and Planning Coordination, for example, have been actively engaged with considerable support from Conservation International in environmental diplomacy in the lead-up to Copenhagen. (SEPTEL on "Suriname Green" forthcoming.) With other Ministries taking such active leading roles, it was not surprising that Kartoebi did not seem to be aware of or share information about Suriname's goal of obtaining compensation for forest conservation or Suriname's plan for mitigating the effects of the rising sea level since it is purportedly projected by the World Bank to be one of the top ten affected countries in the world. END COMMENT. NAY