PORTUGAL DISAPPOINTED WITH COPENHAGEN, SAYS EU

C O N F I D E N T I A L LISBON 000040

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR OES/EGC:DNELSON
DEPT ALSO FOR OES/S/SECC:RKASTENBERG
DEPT ALSO FOR OES/EGC:KLARSEN
DEPT ALSO FOR EUR/WE:SHARTMANN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2020
TAGS: KGHG SENV ENRG PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGAL DISAPPOINTED WITH COPENHAGEN, SAYS EU
WILL ASSOCIATE

REF: STATE 3079

Classified By: Gary B. Applegarth, Pol-Econ Officer, Reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).


1. (C) Poleconoff discussed reftel points on January 21 with
Fausto Brito e Abreu, advisor on climate change in the
Portuguese Ministry of Environment, who said the EU will be
submitting this month a combined letter of association for
all member states to the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat and inscribing a European
Union-wide carbon emissions reduction goal of at least 20
percent, and possibly 20-30 percent pending comparable
commitments by other nations. Brito e Abreu said Portugal is
"not enthusiastic" about the Accord and does not plan any
diplomatic outreach to convince other nations to associate
with it, but rather is looking forward to "something more
substantial" coming out of the Mexico Climate Conference
scheduled for December 2010.


2. (C) Brito e Abreu, a member of the Portuguese delegation
at the Copenhagen climate change talks in December, described
the Copenhagen Accord as "disappointing" but praised
President Obama's role in the negotiations and credited the
inclusion of language regarding mitigation action reporting
and verification (paragraph 5 of the Accord) to President
Obama's actions. Brito e Abreu said the 2 degree celsius
warming limitation target was "nothing new," as it was agreed
to at the G-8 summit in July 2009, and was critical of the
Accord's "bottom up" approach for identifying mitigation
actions, saying "the EU prefers for science to dictate the
goal, and then assign required actions to meet that goal."


3. (C) Brito e Abreu said the EU performed poorly at
Copenhagen due to the Danish chair's lack of understanding of
parliamentary procedures and the EU representatives' failure
to effectively use media coverage to convey the EU message.
Taking advantage of the Danes' failure to manage the general
sessions, developing countries "blocked everything" and were
bent on preserving the Kyoto Protocol, which obligates only
developed nations to act. Brito e Abreu described China as
obstructionist in Copenhagen, using their role as "champion
of the developing countries" as a means to avoid making
meaningful emissions reduction commitments.


4. (C) Finally, Brito e Abreu frankly described the
logistics and management of the Copenhagen meetings as a
"mess," with visiting Ministers and delegates waiting in long
lines for accreditation, fragmented and undermanned security,
and a general lack of organization.


5. (C) Comment: Despite acknowledging progress in some
areas, Brito e Abreu's bottom line was EU disappointment in
the Accord. He primarily blamed developing nations for the
failure to produce a stronger outcome at Copenhagen, but it
was clear that he believes the U.S. and other developed
nations should be willing to commit to binding actions
whether developed nations do so or not. Strengthening
Portuguese support for the Accord will probably depend on
whether a large number of nations associate with it and
inscribe mitigation actions. End Comment.


For more reporting from Embassy Lisbon and information about Portugal,
please see our Intelink site:

http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/portal:port ugal
BALLARD