COMMONWEALTH DECLARES CLIMATE CHANGE THE CHALLENGE OF OUR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000482 SIPDIS STATE FOR SPECIAL ENVOY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KGHG KSUM TSPL TD SUBJECT: COMMONWEALTH DECLARES CLIMATE CHANGE THE CHALLENGE OF OUR TIME REF: PORT OF SPAIN 460; SMART ATTACHMENT - PORT OF SPAIN CONSENSUS ¶1. SUMMARY. Commonwealth heads of government issued a declaration November 28 that called climate change the "challenge of our time." The declaration, ironed out by leaders participating in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) after presentations by special guests French President Sarkozy and Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen (reftel),pledges member states will support Rasmussen's efforts to achieve an "operationally binding agreement" at the upcoming COP-15 meetings in Copenhagen, with the goal of attaining a "full legally binding outcome no later than 2010." The declaration also expresses support for a $10 billion fund proposed by the British and French that would be tied to a Copenhagen agreement to help developing nations pay for climate change initiatives. Diplomats from major Commonwealth missions have called the meeting a success both publicly and privately, and the GOTT is riding high on the mostly positive coverage of the CHOGM and the central role Prime Minister Manning is portrayed to have played in making climate change a dominant theme of the biennial event. Manning will attend COP-15 from December 16-18 with his environment minister and lead environmental treaty negotiator. END SUMMARY. LEADERS ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES ON CLIMATE CHANGE -------------- -- ¶2. Commonwealth leaders issued a climate change declaration in Port of Spain November 28 as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHGOM). A special executive session began on November 27 and was attended by special guests UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. ¶3. GOTT Prime Minister Patrick Manning's permanent secretary Sandra Marchak told the Charge on December 2 that after presentations by Sarkozy and Rasmussen, Commonwealth leaders debated the issue and a committee led by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd worked late into the night drafting a proposal to reach a consensus agreement. This followed failure of a meeting chaired by the TT Foreign Minister that lasted until 3 am the morning of November 27 to hammer out final language. Leaders met again the morning of November 28, Marchak told us, to iron out the details and release the declaration. Marchak stressed that Rudd and other leaders drafted and edited the declaration themselves, rather than tasking technical staff, and acknowledged that there remained some variances in opinion on approaches to climate change between Commonwealth members, but that consensus was reached. ¶4. The British deputy high commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago described the declaration as a "strong statement on climate change." The Australian High Commissioner told the Charge December 3 that Canberra was pleased with the statement, which he said was in line with his government's views looking toward Copenhagen. His government also felt it received good press and a good start on hosting the 2011 CHOGM. THE PORT OF SPAIN CONSENSUS -------------- ¶5. The text of the Commonwealth Climate Change Declaration can be found at the CHOGM Website http://chogm2009.org. The 14-point statement describes climate change as "the challenge of our time" and an "undisputed threat" to security, prosperity and economic and social development. Commonwealth leaders pledged to support the efforts of the Danish prime minister to delver a "comprehensive, substantial and operationally binding agreement in Copenhagen leading towards a full legally binding outcome no later than 2010." PORT OF SP 00000482 002 OF 002 ¶6. The declaration also expresses support for a $10 billion fund proposed by the British and French that would be tied to a Copenhagen agreement in order to help developing nations pay for climate change initiatives. The Port of Spain declaration noted that Commonwealth members have a "range of views as to whether average global temperature increase should be constrained to below 1.5 degrees or to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," but agreed that any framework developed in Copenhagen must address the needs of developing countries and provide them with both financial and technical assistance. ¶7. While hailing the consensus reached by Commonwealth leaders, UNSYG Ban Ki Moon also warned that world leaders may seem united in purpose when addressing climate change, but they are "not united in action." He called upon the leaders meeting in Port of Spain to "seal the deal" in Copenhagen in December, and said that "momentum for success in Copenhagen is growing." MANNING TAKES CENTER STAGE -------------- ¶8. Local press largely hailed the CHOGM as a success, again thrusting Trinidad and Tobago onto the international stage as Prime Minister Manning released the climate change statement flanked by the UNSYG, the Commonwealth SYG, and the prime ministers of Australia and Denmark. We are told Manning will travel to Copenhagen December 16-18, and that will be accompanied by Emily Dick-Forde, Minster of Planning Housing and Environment, and Kishan Kumar Singh, her Head of Multilateral Environmental Agreements. ¶9. Manning also agreed in principle to move forward on his government's own climate change policy, even as he insisted that the GOTT will go forward with an aluminum smelting project on Trinidad, saying that the plant will meet higher environmental and health standards than currently used by the international community. One of the few publicized counter-demonstrations that took place during CHOGM challenged Sarkozy's statements in support of the smelter project, with activists claiming hypocrisy as the French President flew to Port of Spain from Brazil and to Paris on the same day November 27 just to deliver his climate change presentation. COMMENT: GOTT PULLS IT OFF, AGAIN -------------- ¶10. The GOTT is basking in CHOGM's perceived success. While the country's infrastructure is still lacking in many respects -- the site of the opening ceremony featuring Queen Elizabeth II was under construction nearly up until the event itself -- the GOTT seemed to have applied some lessons on security and logistics learned from the Summit of the Americas. KUSNITZ