VZCZCXRO1239
RR RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHGV #0360/01 1311543
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111543Z MAY 09
FM USMISSION GENEVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8405
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3029

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GENEVA 000360 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO, OES/ENG AND OES/ENV, USAID 
OES/ENG PASS TO SYOFFEE 
OES/ENV FOR J MATUSZAK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG ECON WMO
SUBJECT: CLIMATE CHANGE: UN AGENCIES DESCRIBE CHALLENGES TO A/S 
BRIMMER 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  Mission Geneva organized an event on May 5 to discuss 
climate change, taking advantage of the visit of Assistant Secretary 
Esther Brimmer.  Guests to the event, who had been selected on the 
basis of their involvement in threading climate change concerns into 
their home organization's agenda, spoke to the need for better 
messaging that would address the cross-cutting nature of climate 
change adaptation and mitigation.  Earlier in the day, Brimmer met 
with the WMO Secretary General regarding the World Climate 
Conference 3 and reform initiatives.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Climate Change - a Geneva Perspective 
------------------------------------- 
¶2.  International Organizations A/S Brimmer, during a two-day 
orientation visit to Geneva on May 4 and 5 (septels), stressed that 
she was in listening mode, which included an evening with key actors 
from Geneva-based organizations involved in climate change.  Guests 
included Bjorn Stigson, President of the World Business Council for 
Sustainable Development; Secretary General Michel Jarraud of the 
World Meteorological Organization (WMO); William Jackson, Deputy 
Director General of the International Union for Conservation of 
Nature,  Ivar Baste, Director of the Environment Management 
Secretariat for UNEP; Maria Neira, Climate and Health Director for 
the World Health Organization (WHO), Mohammed Mukhier, Head of 
Disaster Policy and Preparedness Department for the International 
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and 
Malcolm Johnson, Director of the Telecommunication Standardization 
Bureau at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). 
 
¶3.  The discussion ranged from the real politick view of Stigson who 
advises the German, Chinese and the U.S. governments on climate 
change mitigation to Neira's innovative ideas for getting the public 
at large and the private sector behind mitigation efforts.   Stigson 
said that China aspires to a low carbon economy for energy security 
and to mitigate the destabilizing effects of climate change on rural 
areas that are particularly vulnerable to draught.  He went on to 
say that the U.S. and China are in a parallel situation needing to 
sort out their domestic situations before they can move forward. 
 
¶4. WHO's Neira  proffered a more positive vision.  She stated that 
people could be motivated to move forward on climate change 
mitigation if it is tied to a good public health campaign.  I.E., 
climate change mitigation is good for you and your children because 
it reduces chronic vascular disease, respiratory illness, asthma, 
and other diseases.    Neira called this a "no-regrets investment;" 
meaning that climate change mitigation is health insurance for 
society at large.  Clean cooking stoves that reduce black carbon 
emissions and indoor air pollution would be one example of a good 
joint initiative. She also noted that hospitals and clinics could 
lead by example by reducing their institutional carbon footprint. 
 
¶5. According to Johnson's (ITU) read-out, efficiencies in hospitals 
and clinics may not be that hard to capture.  ITU recently completed 
a full life cycle analysis and standardized methodology for 
measuring the carbon footprint of Information and Communication 
Technologies (ICT).  Johnson stated that ICTs contribute 
approximately 3 percent of greenhouse gas emissions - about the same 
as air transportation.   If improved ICTs were fully integrated into 
society (for example, in hospitals) the efficiencies gained could 
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15 percent from current 
levels by 2020.  Johnson made the point that in Europe alone there 
were 100 million cell phone users who replace their phones annually. 
 IUCN's Jackson concurred that the private sector would have to lead 
on climate change solutions and echoed Neira's call for linking 
climate change and health, noting the steady creep of tick borne 
diseases into new areas.  He also made a case for addressing land 
use changes, particularly deforestation and forest degradation, 
which would improve livelihoods as well as sequester carbon. 
 
¶6.  Jarraud reminded our State colleagues that even if all 
greenhouse gas emissions were to cease tomorrow, climate change will 
persist for the next 500 years; which is why adaptation as well as 
mitigation is essential.  He made the point that we can no longer 
look to the past as a model for the future.  Decision makers 
determining where to build a dam cannot depend on past hydrological 
data to determine the best location, he said.  He added that at this 
point 500 year floods may occur every few years, and seasonal rains 
may shift all together.  IFRC's Mukhier underscored that people just 
are not prepared for unexpected weather - they do not know how to 
plan for or react to floods in dry areas or draughts in wet areas. 
He said that IFRC's responses to disasters due to extreme weather 
events are increasing but they do not necessarily garner press 
attention.  "This is bigger than any one organization," according to 
Mukhier.  He urges UN and non-UN actors to sit together and "work on 
analyses and conclusions to deal with these humanitarian crises on 
the ground." 
 
WMO and the WCC3 
 
GENEVA 00000360  002 OF 002 
 
 
---------------- 
¶7.  Brimmer met with WMO Secretary General Jarraud earlier in the 
day to discuss progress on the World Climate Conference 3 (WCC3). 
He explained the role of the WMO and the proposed outcome of the 
WCC3 - a "Global Framework on Climate Services" in relation to the 
upcoming UNFCCC COP 15.  WMO has a role in mitigation as it can 
monitor the geographic spread and levels of greenhouse gas emissions 
which will be essential for assessing the implementation of COP 15 
outcomes.  Jarraud also explained the critical need to disseminate 
accurate weather predictions to decision makers in all 
socio-economic sectors so that they can make critical resource 
choices in adapting to climate change; WMO's Global Framework could 
be key to helping the most vulnerable communities adapt to climate 
change. 
 
¶8.  When the conversation turned to management issues, Jarraud 
emphasized that his goal in implementing reform practices is to make 
a more efficient and responsive organization.  Having completed 80 
percent of the auditors' recommendations, he expected that further 
reform would proceed at a slower pace, though he ruefully commented 
that despite his hope that WMO would not be on the leading edge of 
implementing IPSAS, it seemed that WMO was on schedule for 
implementation while other UN organizations were beginning to lag 
behind.  Finally, Jarraud wholeheartedly thanked Brimmer for 
delivering the letter informing him of the USG contribution of USD 
500,000 towards WCC3 and noted that it was "good to know U.S. 
priorities, because then we can say: OK, how can we help."  Mission 
subsequently issued a press release announcing the USG 
contribution. 
 
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