CYPRUS: CLIMATE CHANGE NEXT STEPS: U.S. WORKING TOWARDS JANUARY 31ST DEADLINE

UNCLAS NICOSIA 000046 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KGH SENV ENRG CY SUBJECT: CYPRUS: CLIMATE CHANGE NEXT STEPS: U.S. WORKING TOWARDS JANUARY 31ST DEADLINE REF: STATE 3080 (U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. This message contains an action request - see para 9. ¶2. (SBU) Per Reftel request, on January 22 DCM, accompanied by Econ Officer and Econ Specialist, met with Theodoulos Mesimeris, Environment Officer, at the GOC Environment Service (under the Ministry of Agriculture) to encourage GOC accession to the Copenhagen Accord. Mesimeris was the head of the Cyprus delegation at Copenhagen, and attended both the recent EU ministerial meeting in Seville, and the ensuing COREPER meeting in Brussels. ¶3. (SBU) In an earlier telephone conversation, Mesimeris had stressed that Cyprus was determined to act in concert with the rest of the EU on the Copenhagen Accord. He also noted that there was little doubt that Cyprus, along with the rest of the EU, would sign the Copenhagen Accord. Instead, the big question that remains to be answered is whether the EU will opt for a 20 percent versus 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by ¶2020. This, he said, would depend to a great extent on what other developed countries decide, including, notably, the United States. ¶4. (SBU) Currently, the EU is committed to 20 percent reduction, structured as follows: (a) a 21 percent reduction from 2005 levels under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS),involving individual reductions from the EU's 11,000 heavy industries; and (b) a 10.0 percent reduction (-10.0 percent) from 2005 levels under the Effort Share (ES) program. This program sets unique quantitative reduction targets for each EU Member State, ranging from -20.0 to +20.0 percent. For example, Cyprus has a -5.0 percent target, the UK -15.0 percent, while Poland has a +10.0 percent allowance. Collectively, the EU 27 have committed to -10.0 percent under the ES. ¶5. (SBU) During our meeting, Mesimeris commented that the EU, as a whole, would be willing to commit to a 30 percent reduction (which would require amending current commitments as outlined above) PROVIDED other countries (industrialized as well as emerging economies) undertook "comparable efforts." This remains a somewhat vague term, although Jacqueline Cramer, the Dutch Minister at the Seville meeting, presented notional quantitative targets of what he thought every other country (outside the EU) should commit. Cyprus, and the other EU Member States, are mulling over the Dutch proposal but it seems that consensus is building around it. ¶6. (SBU) Mesimeris gave us in confidence a two-page copy of the Cramer proposal (e-mailed to EUR/SE). For the US, the Cramer proposal reads: QUOTE The USA could (a) enhance domestic (LULUCF) reductions outside cap-and-trade sectors, (b) finance 0.72 Gt CO2-equivalent (12 percent on 1990) through REDD in developing countries, provided that there is no double counting and (c) recalculate the possibilities for enhancing the 17-20 percent emission reduction compared to 2005 with lower energy demand and lower prices due to the economic crisis. END QUOTE ¶7. (SBU) Mesimeris, who is also responsible for drafting Cyprus' strategic plan to achieve the Cypriot target, noted that the local transportation sector (almost entirely dependent on private transport, since public transport is woefully inadequate) was chiefly responsible for Cyprus' emissions, along with the agricultural sector (animals and waste). ¶8. (SBU) He noted further that Cyprus' existing plans are insufficient to achieve its emissions reduction goal. Towards this end, he very much welcomed our offer to cooperate more closely on a bilateral (Cyprus-US) level to upgrade Cyprus' technological expertise, structuring this dialog and potential for future cooperation under the recently-signed bilateral Science and Technology Agreement. Note: This could provide commercial opportunities for US firms with green technology in transportation and agriculture. ¶9. (SBU) Action Request: Post requests Washington assistance in identifying emissions reductions technologies and/or knowhow, particularly in the transportation and agricultural sectors, with a view to assist the GOC meet its emissions targets. End Action Request. URBANCIC