R 111503Z FEB 09
FM USMISSION GENEVA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7984
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 
EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS GENEVA 000121 
 
 
 
STATE FOR OES/EGC FOR GTHOMPSON 
STATE FOR OES/ENV FOR JMATUSZAK, ASALZBERG 
STATE FOR IO/EDA FOR RWEBBER 
STATE FOR EUR/PGI FOR DTESSLER 
NAIROBI FOR USUNEP FOR JSTEWART 
EU EMBASSIES FOR EST OFFICERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG SENV EIND UN ECE ECOSOC KUNR
SUBJECT: UNECE Environment for Europe Process: New and Improved 
 
REF: 08 Geneva 927 
 
¶1. Summary. The UN Economic Commission for Europe's (UNECE) 
Committee on Environmental Policy (CEP) met January 20-23, for final 
negotiations on the reform of the Environment for Europe (EfE) 
Process, which is anchored by periodic Ministerial Conferences. 
After lengthy negotiations, the draft EfE reform was adopted and 
will now go to the UNECE's Commission for endorsement at a political 
level.  The U.S. achieved all of its goals, and the 2011 EfE 
ministerial conference in Kazakhstan will now focus on just two 
themes and produce a negotiated outcome document limited to two 
pages.  End Summary. 
 
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Reform of the Environment for Europe Ministerial 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2. The UN Economic Commission for Europe's (UNECE) Committee on 
Environmental Policy (CEP) has served as the sponsor of the 
Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (EfE) since it began 
in 1991.  Unfortunately, the preparatory process for the last two 
conferences had been costly and largely unproductive requiring many 
meetings over several years and focused exclusively on a lengthy 
negotiated statement.   In October 2007, the EfE agreed to a U.S. 
proposal to conduct a substantial reform process as a prerequisite 
for UNECE continuing to serve as the Secretariat for the EfE 
Process.  The EfE reform process was given a deadline of March 2009, 
the next meeting of the UNECE, to negotiate an outcome of the reform 
process. 
 
¶3. The CEP met three times in 2008 to hammer out a reform. In 
October the CEP held a contentious round of negotiations that led 
the OES/ENV representative to make a clear statement to other 
members that the EfE Process would have move to a host organization 
in which the U.S. does not participate if there was no political 
will for a reformed preparatory process and outcome.  The U.S. 
strongly supports a focused process and Conference which would 
stress implementation of agreements and which would facilitate 
discussions of lessons learned and best practices amongst Ministers 
and representatives of civil society, including the private sector. 
In order to achieve this, it was paramount for the U.S. to achieve a 
reform agreement to limit the preparatory process on a maximum of 
two themes and an outcome document restricted to two pages.  The 
U.S. agreement to any kind of outcome document was a large 
concession to other member states. Past experience has demonstrated 
that the preparatory process and conference are often consumed with 
negotiating a long outcome statement that diverts attention from the 
activities associated with the chosen themes. 
 
¶4. Knowing that there would not be another chance at negotiations, 
members were motivated to come to an agreement at the January CEP 
session.  Not surprisingly, negotiations ultimately came down to 
trade-offs between the U.S. and the EU, led by the Presidency of the 
Czech Republic.  The Czechs felt a tremendous sense of 
responsibility and ownership, speaking for 27 EU members and 
considering EfE to be their own child (the Czechs hosted the very 
first EfE Ministerial conference in 1991). 
 
¶5. The proposed reform allows for actions by interested ministers on 
specific subjects and/or specific subregions, but the EfE will not 
be a tool for launching large negotiated initiatives. The U.S. 
stressed the importance that action at the national level plays in 
building subregional and, eventually, international partnerships. 
 
¶6. Other achievements included an enhanced role for the private 
sector in the preparatory process and EfE conferences, and a clear 
understanding that the CEP is the convener, not the coordinator of 
the EfE process, especially in carrying out the mid-term review of 
the implementation of EfE outcomes.  This latter point is critical 
in reframing the EfE in terms of national ownership of activities 
and outcomes, so that member states do not expect the CEP 
Secretariat to initiate data collection, analysis, etc. 
 
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Comment 
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¶7. Some delegates had expected a change of tactic from the U.S. now 
that we are in a new administration.  We made the point that while 
substance on many issues may change, the U.S. will continue to value 
efficient processes that are transparent and support the growth of 
capacity and responsibility at the national level. 
 
¶8. The new and improved EfE process continues U.S. efforts in the UN 
Commission on Sustainable Development and the United Nations 
Environment Program to focus on action and implementation; it could 
also be a template for reforming other international fora.  While 
there was significant pressure to have an open-ended outcome 
document, there was also an unspoken understanding among the members 
that ten to twenty page outcome documents are unwieldy, distracting 
and ultimately meaningless as they fill up with platitudes and wish 
lists. 
 
¶9. Now comes the hard part.  Process must become substance and lead 
to concrete achievements for the environment.  The reformed 
preparatory process calls for the identification of themes no later 
than 18 months before the Conference, which is planned for sometime 
before the fall of 2011.  This means that the discussion on possible 
themes, based on environmental reports, should occur at the October 
2009 CEP meeting.  We will encourage engagement from EUR/ACE and 
USAID to ensure the focus of the work coincides with the 
environmental priorities they are addressing in Eastern and 
Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.  The next EfE 
Conference will be held in 2011 in Kazakhstan.  End Comment. 
 
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