METI VICE MINISTER EMPHASIZES ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000425

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/SECC, EEB, EAP/J
STATE ALSO FOR OES/EGC - TTALLEY, NBARTH, AVOCKERODT
DEPT PASS CEQ
USDOE FOR S-3, RMARLAY, SRUEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2019
TAGS: SENV ENRG KGHG JA
SUBJECT: METI VICE MINISTER EMPHASIZES ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY
AND IMPORTANCE OF CHINA IN ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

TOKYO 00000425 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires James Zumwalt, reasons 1.4 (b) and )(d
)


1. (C) Summary: METI Vice Minister Mochizuki called for
continued U.S.-Japan cooperation in research and development
of clean energy technology and in bringing the emerging
market economies into a post-Kyoto framework during his
February 18 meeting with Climate Change Special Envoy Stern.
Mochizuki said while China and India could not be forced into
participating in a new climate agreement, they could be
convinced to join by demonstrating the economic benefits of
clean energy technology. He added that developed countries
would have to invest heavily in clean energy R&D. S/E Stern
reminded Mochizuki of the urgency of getting an international
framework in place and actions taken to reduce GHG emissions,
and outlined the challenges to the U.S. and international
community. Both agreed on the value of a dialogue among the
major emitters and S/E Stern noted the possibility of a
leaders' meeting on climate change/energy on the margins of
this year's G8 Summit. End summary.

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METI Focus on Clean Energy and Getting China On Board
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2. (C) Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) Vice
Minister Harufumi Mochizuki met Special Envoy for Climate
Change Todd Stern to discuss continuing strong U.S.-Japan
cooperation on energy and climate change February 18 in
Tokyo. Mochizuki began by citing two points as essential for
progress: research and development in clean energy technology
and energy efficiency, which he called the most important
issue, and including all major emitters in any new framework
for addressing climate change.


3. (C) Mochizuki said the long-term solution to climate
change lies in developing technologies to produce clean
energy and boost energy efficiency. To do this, he said
developed countries must make a considerable financial
investment. He noted Japan and the U.S. already are
cooperating on a number of such research projects and cited
GOJ work with the Department of Energy at Los Alamos National
Labs on nuclear and clean energy. (Note: Mochizuki
distributed power point presentations on Japan's cooperation
with the United States and with China on clean energy and the
environment. Scans of these hand outs have been sent to
S/ECC and EAP/J. End note.) Mochizuki added PM Aso will
mention this cooperation during the February 24 summit in
Washington.


4. (C) Mochizuki talked at length about the importance of
including all major emitters in a post-Kyoto framework,
saying their absence from the Kyoto Protocol was one of its
major defects. He stated climate change cannot be solved
without including China and India in the process, but that
trying to force them to participate would not work. To gain
their cooperation, he said it is necessary to show China and
India that increasing clean energy production is to their
benefit; engaging the private sector is essential. The
solution to climate change must both spur economic
development and address environmental issues. He noted a
METI sponsored discussion forum on clean energy and the
environment, which brings together Japanese companies with
Chinese counterparts and that has resulted in over 20
projects. This type of forum helps China understand that
there are means available to reduce GHG emissions.


5. (C) S/E Stern said he agrees with the Vice Minister's
points regarding the Kyoto Protocol's shortcomings and the
importance of significant participation from the emerging
market economies. The U.S. appreciates Japan's leadership in
encouraging these countries to participate/act and the
challenge lies in finding a way to bring them on board. S/E
Stern added, while technology may provide the long term
solution to climate change, we do not have much time to put
in place agreements for addressing the issue.

TOKYO 00000425 002.2 OF 002



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Challenges for U.S. and Praise for Major Emitters Dialogue
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6. (C) S/E Stern set out three challenges facing the U.S.
and the international community to reaching an agreement on a
new framework. First, the timing of Copenhagen presented a
problem for the United States, since it leaves little time
for the U.S. to get domestic GHG reduction legislation
passed. Congress, he said, would be reluctant to take on
international commitments before having the appropriate
domestic legislation and programs in place. Second, S/E
Stern agreed with Mochizuki's assessment that inclusion of
China and India is essential and that they must see
addressing climate change as a beneficial part of their
economic development. He said the U.S. hoped to develop a
bigger partnership with China, and perhaps the U.S., Japan
and China could cooperate on developing clean energy
technology. Third, it is necessary to develop a mechanism to
help finance deployment of technologies to developing
countries. One part would be leveraging private capital by
policy changes that provide incentives for private sector
investment.


7. (C) Mochizuki said the GOJ had high regard for the U.S.
leadership in the Major Economies process and said he hoped
the MEM will continue. The MEM is valuable in developing
consensus in the UNFCCC; doing so without the MEM would be
difficult because of the large number of developing countries
and structure/dynamics of the UNFCCC. S/E Stern said he had
long thought there needed to be some smaller group of major
economies engaged in addressing climate change issues. While
the Administration is developing its position, he thought the
form of the MEM is right and agreed a structure like the MEM
should continue, although perhaps under a different name.
With Italy holding the G8 presidency in 2009, he said it
would make sense for Italy to host a MEM type leaders meeting
with the U.S. as co-chair. In the future, perhaps one of the
emerging economies could be co-chair, but not yet, he added.


8. (U) Meeting participants:

Japan

-Vice Minister Harufumi Mochizuki, METI
-Masanori Suzuki, Director General, Industrial Science and
Technology Policy and Environment Bureau, METI
-Jun Arima, Deputy Director General for Global Environmental
Affairs, METI

United States
-Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern
-Robert Cekuta, Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs, U.S.
Embassy, Tokyo
-Bart Cobbs, Environment, Science, and Technology Unit Chief,
U.S. Embassy, Tokyo


9. (U) S/E Stern cleared this cable subsequent to his
departure from Tokyo.
ZUMWALT