SCENESETTER: APRIL 27-28 MAJOR ECONOMIES FORUM

UNCLAS STATE 042297 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENRG KPOW SENV SUBJECT: SCENESETTER: APRIL 27-28 MAJOR ECONOMIES FORUM PREPARATORY SESSION REF: MARCH 09 MEF CABLE SUMMARY ¶1. On March 20, President Obama invited the leaders of 16 other major economies, plus the UN Secretary General and the Danish Prime Minister, to participate in a Leaders Meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) this July in La Maddalena, Italy (reftel). The July Forum will be preceded by at least three preparatory meetings, the first of which will take place April 27-28 in Washington, DC. This cable provides general background information on the April 27-28 meeting, for Embassy/Mission reference only. A readout will follow after the conclusion of the meeting. END SUMMARY ¶2. OVERALL MEF OBJECTIVES - As explained in President Obama's letter, the MEF is designed to "build on and advance the existing major economies process" (launched by the United States in September 2007) and "permit a candid dialogue among key countries, provide political leadership required to promote a successful outcome in Copenhagen, and facilitate the exploration of concrete initiatives and joint ventures that can advance clean energy growth while cutting emissions." ¶3. OBJECTIVES OF APRIL 27-28 MEETING - The first MEF preparatory meeting is designed to begin to tee up key issues that will likely need to be addressed in the months leading up to both the Forum in July and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations in Copenhagen in December. In particular, participants will begin to discuss how national actions can address long-term climate objectives and technologies and policies to accelerate the transformation to a low-carbon economy. The session will seek participants' views on these issues, as well as suggestions on how the MEF process itself can both contribute to success in Copenhagen and promote technology cooperation, including substantive deliverables leaders could announce in July. In addition to these tangible goals, the first preparatory session is also designed to set a constructive and candid tone, to facilitate the thorough dialogue required to accelerate progress toward Copenhagen. ¶4. VENUE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES - The meeting will take place in the State Department's Loy Henderson Auditorium. A reception for all participants is planned at the Kennedy Center on the evening of April 27. Our expectation is that there will be media opportunities (to be confirmed) at the conclusion of the meeting. ¶5. PARTICIPANTS - Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman will chair the session, and Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern will represent the United States. Each delegation has been asked to send a leader's representative, plus three additional representatives. We have limited delegation size in order to foster a more Sherpa-like discussion. Most delegations will be represented by a Minister or equivalent. The 17 major economies include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The United Nations and Denmark (in its capacity as chair of the UNFCCC negotiations in December) have also been invited to participate. CLINTON