CODEL PELOSI, SHANGHAI MAYOR DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000232 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE PASS TO CEQ SUTLEY STATE ALSO FOR OES DAS MIOTKE, OES/EGC, OES/ENV STATE ALSO FOR EAP/PD - STOLTZ, GALT, EMMONS STATE ALSO FOR ECA STATE ALSO FOR S/S-P JAMES GREEN USDOC FOR ITA DAS KASOFF, ITA/MAC/OCEA SZYMANSKI NSC FOR LOI, SHRIER USDOE FOR INTERNTATIONAL EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL/MKASMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SENV ENRG PGOV OVIP PELOSI NANCY CH SUBJECT: CODEL PELOSI, SHANGHAI MAYOR DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGE REF: A) SHANGHAI 229, B) SHANGHAI 231 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: CODEL Pelosi met with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng and other Shanghai and Chinese officials on May 25 at Shanghai's City Hall. The CODEL discussed Shanghai's efforts to promote greater energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to the importance of addressing the global climate change crisis. Mayor Han noted that given its population of 19 million people and its per capita density of only 84 square feet per person, Shanghai is working hard to do its part to address global climate change and to grow in an environmentally friendly way while meeting the needs of its growing population. Shanghai, as it prepares for the 2010 World Expo, is currently building more than 100 new subway stations for its expanding subway system and focusing on meeting Central Government guidelines for emissions. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng warmly welcomed Speaker Pelosi and the other members of her delegation to Shanghai City Hall on behalf of Shanghai's 19 million people on May 25. Mayor Han remarked that Shanghai and San Francisco have had a sister-city relationship since 1980 and is looking forward to celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of this friendly and cooperative relationship next year while Shanghai hosts the 2010 World Expo. Speaker Pelosi thanked Mayor Han for his welcome and noted that the purpose of her trip to China was to explore ways that China and the United States could cooperate to mitigate global climate change and develop new technologies that increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. ¶3. (SBU) Representative Markey, noting the many signs of ongoing construction apparent all over Shanghai, asked what types of regulations Shanghai enforced to insure that these new constructions were energy efficient since buildings account for approximately 40 percent of energy consumed. Mayor Han responded that energy efficiency and reducing each individual's energy consumption was incredibly important to Shanghai's city planners given Shanghai's dense population. Even if every individual's energy consumption is low, the overall consumption for a city the size of Shanghai is "massive," he said. Since 2006, Shanghai's local governments have implemented a series of regulations for new buildings that require a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency. This has included the adaptation and adoption of new technologies such as LED (light emitting diode) lighting, he added. ¶4. (SBU) In response to a question from Representative Sensenbrenner on what Shanghai is doing to support energy efficient technologies, Mayor Han said the Shanghai Municipal Government actively discourages individuals from owning and using private cars and encourages people to use public mass transit. In preparation for Shanghai's World Expo in 2010, Mayor Han noted that there were currently 100 new subway stations under construction as Shanghai extends its underground rail system. In 2007, the Shanghai city government also set up a fund to reward any technological or practical solutions that lead to greater energy efficiency in both the public and private sectors. Shanghai's premier universities, such as Jiaotong, Fudan, Tongji and the Science and Technology Universities also are working on the research and development of new technologies that will lead to greenhouse gas reductions, he said. ¶5. (SBU) Representative Blumenauer, noting that the U.S. "lost SHANGHAI 00000232 002 OF 003 almost half a century" building roads and new urban and suburban residential areas that weren't adequately planned or integrated, inquired as to what steps Shanghai has taken to more intelligently apply land-use in its planning. Mayor Han agreed that intelligent urban land-use planning is incredibly important for new developments. He noted that while New York City has approximately 28 square meters (301 square feet) for each resident, Shanghai's huge population means that there is only 7.8 square meters (84 square feet) for every person in Shanghai's urban areas. This creates great pressure on city planners to insure that enough land is set aside for roads and green space as well as residential and commercial uses. ¶6. (SBU) U.S. companies in Shanghai had informed Representative Speier, in a CODEL meeting earlier in the day (septel),that the Shanghai Municipal Government "acted in a fairly transparent manner, especially with regard to the judicial branch," she said. Given that the United States and China are together the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for 40 percent of all emissions, they should cooperate on finding technological ways to solve this problem, she urged. "As China reduces it emissions, how would Shanghai measure its compliance?" asked Representative Speier. Mayor Han responded that since we are in a global village, we are all global villagers and have a special responsibility to cooperate to reduce emissions. The Municipal Government has taken the lead in Shanghai in attempting to introduce environmentally-friendly regulations, he said. Shanghai invests 3 percent of its yearly GDP in environmental protection. The Central Government sets emissions reduction targets every year in April, and should Shanghai not meet its targets, Mayor Han said he would be called to Beijing to "answer to my supervisors and get rebuked." So far, though, he has not yet been called to Beijing for such a rebuke, he said with a smile. Mayor Han also realizes that combating global climate change is too big a job for Shanghai's municipal-level government and so "it has enlisted all levels of government and sectors of society" to contribute to this task, he added. ¶7. (SBU) Representative Markey asked the Mayor his opinion on whether it would be possible to actually monitor emissions and emissions-reductions from specific sectors, such as steel or aluminum foundries, should the United States and China reach an agreement to reduce greenhouse gases. Mayor Han side-stepped the question, responding that to reach a global agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gases, it would be important to create a "scientific set of measurements" that both accounted for a country's aggregate greenhouse gas emissions as well as its per capita emissions. The Mayor also said that it would be important to note the emissions of a country that are related to its "production" and emissions that are related to a country's "consumption." ¶8. (SBU) Speaker Pelosi closed the meeting noting that what the CODEL was learning in Shanghai and would learn in Beijing would better prepare the United States to address the global climate change crisis and assist the United States in preparing for the upcoming climate meetings in Copenhagen. She also made a strong pitch for Shanghai support for the protection of any intellectual property rights that come out of the development of new technologies to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mayor Han extended an invitation for the Speaker and other Members of the delegation to return to Shanghai next year to enjoy both China and see the U.S. national pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. (Note: Funding and construction of a U.S. national pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo is not yet assured at this late date. End note.) SHANGHAI 00000232 003 OF 003 ¶9. (U) U.S. Participants Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mr. Paul Pelosi Rep. Edward Markey Rep. James Sensenbrenner Rep. Earl Blumenauer and son Jon Blumenauer Rep. Jackie Speier Acting United States Consul General in Shanghai Simon Schuchat Professional Staff Members to the Speaker and Representatives Christopher Beede, Consulate Political and Economic Section Chief Matthew Murray, Consulate Political Officer Mark Erickson, Consulate Economic Officer and note taker Fei Yuying, Consulate Interpreter ¶10. (U) Chinese Participants Han Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai Li Zhaoxing, Chairman of NPC Foreign Affairs Committee (former Chinese Ambassador to the United States and former Minister of Foreign Affairs) Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Hu Wei, Vice Chairman of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee Chen Guomin, Minister-Counselor of the Chinese Embassy to the United States Peng Fang, Director, General Office of NPC Foreign Affairs Committee Cheng Lei, Counselor and Director of Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Gan Zhongze, Member of Shanghai MPC Standing Committee and Chairman of Shanghai NPC Urban Construction and Environment Li Mingjun, Director General of Shanghai Municipal Government Foreign Affairs Office Other Chinese officials from both the national and municipal levels. ¶11. (U) Speaker Pelosi's staff have cleared this report. SCHUCHAT