VZCZCXRO8653
RR RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM
RUEHTRO
DE RUEHHI #1440/01 3650453
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 310451Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0667
INFO ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFIUU/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0172
RUEHC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0327
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001440 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, OES/EGC, OES/STC 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE, G/ENV, EGAT/ESP 
EPA FOR OIA (MARK KASMAN, KATHERINE BUCKLEY, RAKHI KASAT) 
STATE PASS TO NOAA/NOS/OIA (JONATHAN JUSTI) 
USDA FOR FOREST SERVICE/INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS (CYNTHIA MACKIE AND ELIZABETH LEBOW) 
INTERIOR FOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (GREG SMITH, STANLEY PONCE, JANINE POWELL ) 
BANGKOK PASS TO RDMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG ECON KGHG VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM OK WITH COP 15 
 
REF: HANOI 1246; HANOI 670 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The Vietnamese climate change negotiating team 
is pleased with the results of the Conference of the Parties-15 
(COP-15) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 
in Copenhagen and will recommend to the Prime Minister that Vietnam 
officially support the Copenhagen Accord.  A Vietnamese negotiator 
cited the positive role played by President Obama and noted his 
satisfaction that the final agreement took into account the 
positions of a broad swath of countries participating in 
Copenhagen.  Looking forward, the Government of Vietnam (GVN) does 
not want to see the Kyoto Protocol dismantled, but supports 
amending the document to require all large emitters, not just 
developed nations, to commit to specific emission reductions. 
Further, proposed financing discussed at COP-15 should target the 
countries most vulnerable to climate change (including Vietnam), as 
opposed to all developing nations.  The state-controlled media was 
more critical of Copenhagen, but primarily focused on the positive 
role played by the Vietnamese delegation, and highlighting recent 
assistance commitments from development partners. End Summary. 
 
 
 
Vietnamese Delegation Pleased with Copenhagen 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Mr. Pham Van Tan, the Deputy Director General for 
International Cooperation at the Ministry of Natural Resources and 
Environment (MONRE) and a member of the Vietnamese negotiating team 
at COP-15, told ESTHOff the Copenhagen Accord was a good agreement 
given the constraints under which the negotiators operated and 
believed that major economies and emitters reached a basic 
consensus on initial steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
Vietnam understood that the document was not binding but felt that 
it reflected a necessary first step that will be improved upon 
through ongoing dialogue.  Though the GVN team had departed Denmark 
prior to the final agreement, they had analyzed the document and 
are drafting a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung 
recommending that Vietnam support the Accord.  According to Mr. 
Tan, Vietnam will then begin corresponding with the UNFCCC 
Secretariat to detail Vietnam's mitigation actions. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Vietnam felt that most of its goals going into the 
conference were met and that Vietnam succeeded in raising its 
profile at the conference.  Prime Minister Dung met with 11 other 
heads of state and international organizations, other high ranking 
GVN delegation members had another 20 policy-level meetings during 
the conference and that Dung received an excellent timeslot for his 
speech to the assembly.  Though Vietnam did not have any specific 
goals for financial commitments at the COP-15, Tan felt that 
potential donors acknowledged the need to provide monetary and 
technical support.  For example, the Prime Minister, the MONRE 
Minister and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development will 
attend a bilateral discussion with the Netherlands in early 2010 to 
detail technical and financial assistance. 
 
 
 
Praise for President Obama and 
 
Request for Additional Cooperation 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
HANOI 00001440  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Tan praised the role of President Obama and noted that 
U.S. leadership was crucial to reaching a final agreement.  MONRE 
Minister Pham Khoi Nguyen, the Deputy Head of Vietnam's delegation, 
was pleased that he had the opportunity to meet with high-level 
members of the U.S. delegation.  Vietnam hopes the United States 
will follow up on Nguyen's request to build on existing 
U.S.-Vietnamese climate change cooperation, such as the Delta 
Research and Global Observation Network (DRAGON) Institute at Can 
Tho University and the U.S.-Vietnam Climate Change Working Group 
announced during the Prime Minister's 2008 visit to the United 
States, and would assist Vietnam to strengthen its 
hydro-meteorological capacity to better respond to climate change. 
The GVN also welcomed U.S. assistance at internal GVN meetings 
early in 2010 to review and modify the Vietnamese approach to 
international negotiations. 
 
 
 
Vietnam Sees Less G-77 Solidarity 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Vietnamese delegation felt that the G-77 umbrella now 
included countries with varied opinions on climate change responses 
and the mitigation responsibilities of each nation.  While Vietnam 
had participated in two years of preparatory meetings with the 
G-77, it did not feel that it had to follow the guidance of China, 
India or other large developing nations.  Similarly, while Vietnam 
worked closely with other ASEAN members in preparation for COP-15 
and at the conference itself, it understood that each country had 
its own position and that no single member could speak for ASEAN. 
 
 
 
Vietnam Wants All Large Emitters 
 
to Commit to Emission Reductions 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Moving forward, Vietnam would like to see more details and 
clarity in the agreement reached in Copenhagen and for the Accord 
to become binding.  Additionally, Vietnam strongly supports the 
continuation of the Kyoto protocol and opposed what Vietnam viewed 
as efforts by some countries, including Japan, to scuttle it.  At 
the same time, Vietnam will seek to amend Kyoto annexes to require 
developed countries to agree to deeper emission cuts and for all 
major greenhouse gas emitters, not simply developed countries, to 
commit to emission reductions.  Vietnam will also focus its efforts 
on ensuring that the financing agreed to at Copenhagen targets the 
nations most vulnerable to climate change, including Vietnam. 
Large developing nations with adequate financial resources should 
not have access to these funds. 
 
 
 
Media Less Positive on COP-15, 
 
Focuses on Vietnam's Contributions 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) Vietnam's state-controlled media has been rather muted in 
its coverage of Copenhagen, possibly because the Prime Minister has 
yet to formally approve the country's position.  Instead, local 
media has largely printed excerpts from foreign outlets focusing on 
 
HANOI 00001440  003 OF 003 
 
 
international opinions of the negotiations and final agreement. 
Print reports noted the inability of many countries to move beyond 
their parochial interests and stated that the final Accord was 
somewhat disappointing after two years of negotiations.  At the 
same time, the domestic press highlighted the positive role played 
by Vietnam at the negotiations and the global recognition Vietnam 
received as a nation at the forefront of the fight against climate 
change.  In the days following the conclusion of the conference, 
reports stressed recent commitments from development partners, such 
as Denmark the Netherlands and Japan, to assist Vietnam's climate 
change efforts, while noting potential U.S. cooperation. 
Michalak