VZCZCXRO9315
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHHM RUEHIK RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
RUEHROV
DE RUEHRL #1552/01 2260539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140539Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9011
INFO RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RHEBAAA/DOE WASHDC
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RUEAEPA/EPA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001552 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB, EEB/ESC, G, OES, OES/EGC, EUR, EUR/RPE, 
EUR/WE, KGHG, USAID 
WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ 
EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; NOT FOR INTERNET 
DISTRIBUTION. 
 
E.O. 12356:  N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG KCHG PREL GM
SUBJECT:  ASSISTANT SECRETARY SULLIVAN'S MEETING WITH 
GERMAN OFFICIALS ON THE PRESIDENT'S MAJOR ECONOMIES 
CONFERENCE 
 
REF: (A) Berlin 3392, (B) Berlin 1396 (C) Berlin 1284 
 
ENTIRE TEXT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR 
INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  On August 10, EEB Assistant 
Secretary Dan Sullivan met with officials from the 
 
SIPDIS 
German Chancellery, Ministry of Economics and 
Technology and  Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss 
the President's September 27-28 Major Economies 
Conference.  Sullivan also conducted a widely attended 
press roundtable where much of the focus was on how 
and whether the Major Economies Conference would fit 
within the UNFCCC and whether the U.S. would agree to 
binding caps on CO2 emissions.  German officials were 
generally supportive of the initiative, and argued 
that the goal is to have a framework compatible with 
the UNFCCC process.  They were also receptive to the 
point that this builds upon the initiative agreed upon 
at the G-8 Summit in Heiligendamm. END SUMMARY. 
 
FEDERAL CHANCELLERY 
- - - - - - - - - - 
¶2.  (SBU) Dr. Peter Roesgen, Director of 
Infrastructure Planning at the Federal Chancellery, 
said that Germany sees the starting point in any 
global initiative on climate change involving G-8 
countries to be the principles agreed upon in 
Heiligendamm.  Roesgen emphasized that it is important 
to have a truly global process that includes not just 
major emitters, but also countries likely to be most 
affected by climate change.  A/S Sullivan responded 
that the President's broad climate initiative 
announced before the G-8 Summit not only focused on 
major economies, but also on an expanded focus on 
issues such as adaptation and deforestation that 
affect many smaller countries.  What was agreed upon 
in Heiligendamm, Roesgen said, was the need for broad 
ownership by all affected countries.  Roesgen said 
that no one process can solve such a global challenge, 
but that all initiatives must be complementary. 
Roesgen was reassured by A/S Sullivan's emphasis that 
the President's initiative will contribute to a global 
agreement within the UNFCCC process. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Roesgen was impressed by the sample U.S. 
matrix provided by A/S Sullivan, but cautioned that 
government funding is not the only issue to focus on; 
market based initiatives such as an Emissions Trading 
System (ETS) are also important.  Sullivan explained 
the purpose of this matrix and the first meeting was 
to find out what other countries are doing on climate 
change and to agree on standards of measurement and 
terminology that will inform the broader UN process. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Bodo Linscheidt, of the Chancellery's 
Environment Section, stated that Germany was pleased 
with any framework, including the U.S. proposal, which 
includes major emitting countries.  He said that there 
appears to be more convergence between U.S. and 
European views on combating climate change than in the 
past.  In discussions over the G-8 + 5 meeting on 
climate change tentatively scheduled for October 16, 
Linscheidt proposed that it might be useful to 
sequential conferences following the President's 
September meeting, hosted by other countries such as 
Japan and China focused on different aspects of 
climate change, all leading to an agreement in 2009 
that would provide for a post-2012 framework. 
Sullivan responded that too many different initiatives 
could be counterproductive, and that the September 
Conference of Major Economies was not intended to be a 
"one off" event but the beginning of an intensive 
process focusing on a specific goal by the end of 
 
BERLIN 00001552  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶2008. 
 
MINISTRY OF ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶5.  (SBU) At the Economics Ministry, Sullivan met with 
State Secretary Joachim Wuermerling, who expressed 
interest in how the major economies conference would 
feed into the UNFCCC's Conference in Bali. 
Wuermerling reiterated that any new approach must 
complement the UNFCCC to gain German support. 
Sullivan replied that this meeting is the beginning of 
a process that will continue beyond Bali, but would 
obviously feed into the larger UNFCCC process.  The 
first step will be to study national policies and 
programs to look for complementary programs and gaps. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Wuermerling welcomed the U.S.' bottom-up 
approach to this subject, commenting that Germany is 
currently going through a similar exercise as it 
drafts a national energy strategy.  The Economics 
Ministry is especially focused on market-driven 
mechanisms to combat climate change, rather than via 
regulation.  In this context, he said that encouraging 
energy efficiency without distorting markets and 
competition was especially challenging. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Uwe Schroeder-Selbach, the Ministry's Advisor 
on Sustainable Energy, asked whether this initiative 
would go beyond that agreed at Heiligendamm.  Sullivan 
replied that this conference is a direct follow 
through to our commitments at the G-8 Summit to work 
to bring major emitting countries into a global 
framework to combat climate change.  Sullivan added 
the goal of the process is to go beyond Heiligendamm 
and to actually get a framework agreement among the 
major economies and long-term global greenhouse gas 
reduction goal by the end of 2008. 
 
FOREIGN OFFICE 
- - - - -  - - 
¶8.  (SBU) Viktor Elbling, Head of the Foreign Office's 
International Economic Policy Division, welcomed the 
U.S. initiative, stating that it was an excellent time 
to follow up on the "most important" initiative agreed 
upon at the G-8 Summit.  He agreed with the U.S. 
approach, commenting that "everyone knows we must talk 
to emerging economies" about climate change.  Elbling 
commented on the number of climate change meetings 
planned in the next four months, noting that it will 
be important to clarify how the President's Major 
Economies Conference fits into these other 
initiatives.  Sullivan agreed, emphasizing the U.S. 
initiative would strive to provide baseline 
information that could inform other processes. 
Elbling opined that this would be a valuable tool but 
cautioned that this should be done as factually as 
possible, to avoid discrepancies in measurements 
across economies.   At the end of the entire process, 
Elbling said it was important to have a balanced 
result - one that is flexible but also concrete in its 
goals and approach.  Germany understands these 
challenges as it is currently working to implement the 
targets agreed upon at the European Council Summit in 
March with concrete initiatives to reach these goals. 
Elbling stated that Germany was supportive of the 
conference and would definitely participate at a high 
level, commenting that the Foreign Office is very 
active on climate change issues within the government. 
 
PRESS 
- - - 
¶9.  (SBU) There is high interest in the U.S. position 
on climate change policy at all levels of German 
society, as evinced by the large turnout of 
 
BERLIN 00001552  003 OF 003 
 
 
journalists at the A/S Secretary's press roundtable. 
Sixteen members of the German and international press 
came on short notice to hear about the President's 
Major Emitters Conference and discuss climate change 
issues.  The majority of questions focused on how and 
whether the Major Economies Conference would fit 
within the UNFCCC and whether the U.S. will agree to 
global caps on CO2. 
 
COMMENT 
- - - - 
¶10.  (SBU) German officials who met A/S Sullivan 
received the U.S. initiative positively, although 
some, particularly in the Chancellor's office, were 
initially skeptical about the USG desire to work 
within the UNFCCC process.  This skepticism could be 
due in part to the German government's belief that 
climate change is "their" issue, and also a failure to 
recognize that Heiligendamm marked a serious 
commitment on the part of the USG to tackle climate 
change at the global level.  In any case, German 
officials appear ready to work with us to engage 
developed and emerging economies on this issue to 
develop a post 2012 climate change strategy.  END 
COMMENT 
 
¶11.  This cable was cleared with A/S Sullivan. 
 
KOENIG