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

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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

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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

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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

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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