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UNCLAS        BERLIN 02548

SIPDIS
CX2BERLN:
    ACTION: ECON
    INFO:   GA CHRON FAS DCM JIS ECONMIN FCS PAO POL AMB
CXBERLIN:
    ACTION: ECON
    INFO:   GA CHRON FAS DCM JIS ECONMIN FCS PAO POL AMB

DISSEMINATION: ECON
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: ECON:RFCEKUTA
DRAFTED: GA:JIJACOBY
CLEARED: EPD: MASULLIVAN, JMASON-RUSCH, TLISTON, GA:MKOUMANS, POL: BM

VZCZCRLI168
RR RUEHC RUEHZN RUCNMEM RUCNFRG RUEHOT RUEHMO
RUEHKO
DE RUEHRL #2548/01 2421546
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301546Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5013
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0912
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1639
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1323

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 002548 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS CEQ AND EPA - MEDEARIS, DEPT FOR OES AND EB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG EAIR GM
SUBJECT: FIRST LOOK AT GERMANY'S EU PRESIDENCY, G-8 
ENVIRONMENT AGENDA 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Although the German government is not 
expected to finalize its G-8 and EU presidency agendas until 
after cabinet meetings on each scheduled for October 1 and 
October 11 respectively, Environment Ministry contacts 
conveyed August 23 what they see as focal points for German 
environmental policy during the dual presidencies in 2007. 
In both the G-8 and EU context, according to the Environment 
Ministry and MFA contacts, climate change will remain a 
priority and the German government will also emphasize energy 
supply issues.  The Environment Ministry communicated an 
ambitious EU presidency agenda on renewable energy innovation 
and further emissions reductions for the transportation 
sector, but recent European Commission discussions and 
signals from the auto sector indicate these ambitions may go 
unrealized in 2007.  Contacts at the MFA noted the Economics 
Ministry may have in mind different energy and emissions 
goals for the G8 and EU presidencies and emphasized the 
agendas are still subject to internal discussion and vetting. 
 Other environmental issues for Germany's EU presidency will 
be biodiversity and water quality.  Environment Ministry 
contacts used their meeting with Global Affairs officer to 
indicate they want to engage with the U.S. on climate and 
energy.  End Summary. 
 
--------------- 
G-8 PRIORITIES 
--------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Global Affairs officer met August 23 with Norbert 
Gorissen, Head of the Environment Ministry's (BMU) European 
Union Division, and Michael Kracht and Birgit Schwenk from 
BMU's International Cooperation Department.  Gorissen is 
responsible in BMU for formulating plans for the German EU 
presidency; Kracht and Schwenk work on G-8 presidency 
planning. 
 
¶3. (U) Kracht noted an October 1 cabinet meeting will 
officially set the agenda for Germany's G-8 Presidency and 
speculates the three major economic themes will be innovation 
and IPR protection, increasing coordination of financial 
markets, and resources and energy.  He acknowledged climate 
change will not feature as prominently as it did at the 
Gleneagles Summit, but he said Germany intends to emphasize 
the link between climate change and energy efficiency and 
diversity of energy supplies. 
 
¶4. (U) Schwenk added climate change likely will receive a lot 
of press attention in 2007 because the Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will publish its Fourth 
Assessment Report over the course of the year.  The year 2007 
also marks the final year before the first commitment period 
under the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012).  Both at the UNFCCC and 
in the context of its G-8 presidency, Schwenk continued, 
Germany will look to establishing an international climate 
regime for the post-2012 period and hopes other countries, 
especially the U.S., will participate in the discussion, if 
not the emissions-reduction regime itself.  The BMU sees the 
upcoming U.S.- EU High Level Dialogue on Climate Change, 
Clean Energy, and Sustainable Development as a good 
opportunity to identify areas for cooperation and sustain 
exchange on U.S. and EU climate policies.  (Note:  While 
remaining commited to Kyoto's emissions reductions regime, 
the BMU is signalling renewed German interest to engage the 
U.S. on areas for cooperation outside the protocol process. 
Gorissen, Kracht, and Schwenk all noted Germany and the U.S. 
share interest in accessing renewable energy and in 
developing clean and more efficient energy technologies. 
They suggested areas of discussion at the high level dialogue 
include promoting greenhouse gas reducing technologies and 
lowering emissions in the transportation sector.  These are 
both areas, Schwenk observed, where Germany and the U.S. can 
learn from each others' experience.  End note.) 
 
-------------- 
EU PRIORITIES 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Gorissen said BMU wants to give environmental policy 
an "active" part in the EU presidency by asserting that 
environmental standards drive innovation and contribute to 
competitiveness.  He noted Germany will launch the EU's 
seventh framework program for research (FP 7) -- a 50 billion 
Euro instrument to support international cooperation on 
science and technology from 2007 to 2013 -- in Brussels in 
March 2007 and wants to couple the research program with an 
action plan for "Energy for Europe."  Gorissen said the 
action plan would respond to the European Commission's 
request for a "concrete roadmap" on energy and would set new 
goals for EU members' renewable energy production by 2020, 
including recommendations for increasing the use of combined 
heat and power installations and biofuels.  (Comment: The 
BMU's plan to link renewable energy to the EU's research and 
innovation strategy may have more rhetorical value than 
economic potential.  Under the FP 7 the amount of EU research 
money slated for renewable energy is relatively low: only 4.8 
percent of the 50 billion Euro budget, 2.4 billion Euro, will 
be allocated to energy research between 2007 and 2013.  Of 
this amount, the European Parliament decided June 15 that 1.6 
billion Euro should go to renewable energy and efficiency 
programs but the European Commission is resisting this 
earmark, claiming other kinds of projects may be more 
derserving of the funds.  End Comment.) 
 
¶6. (U) On transportation, Gorissen briefly noted the BMU will 
continue to support emissions targets for air traffic, but 
did not provide any detail on what the targets would look 
like.  He also said the BMU would like to use the EU 
presidency to push for stricter nitrogen oxide (NOx) 
emissions limits on diesel cars.  While EU members are still 
debating the latest version of emissions standards, Euro 5, 
the BMU is already looking ahead to a "Euro 6" version that 
would put NOx limits for diesel and petrol engines on equal 
footing.  Diesel engines currently emit much more NOx than 
petrol engines; car manufacturers claim new targets pose 
significant technical challenges that will have a negative 
impact on car prices, fuel consumption efficiency and hence, 
carbon dioxide emissions. 
 
¶7. (U) According to Gorissen, ongoing issues for the German 
EU presidency will be water quality and biodiversity.  He 
noted the latest development on the issue of water pollution 
is a directive the Commission proposed July 2006.  That 
directive would set limits on EU surface water concentration 
levels for 41 types of pesticides and heavy metals.  The BMU 
expects to host a conference on the impact of climate change 
on European waters in February 2007 in Berlin.  On 
biodiversity, Gorissen said Germany plans to host a 
Biodiversity Conference in Bonn in 2008 and will begin 
preparation of the EU position during its Presidency.  Key 
biodiversity issues for the EU will be financing biodiversity 
conservation projects in developing countries and improving 
data sharing. 
 
---------------------------------- 
MFA: "AGENDAS STILL NOT FINALIZED" 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) In a separate conversation, a MFA contact who follows 
environmental themes in the G-8 and EU observed the BMU has 
its own ideas about what Germany's dual presidency agendas 
should look like.  He noted the Economics Ministry will 
likely have different views from the BMU, especially on a 
renewable energy roadmap and NOx emissions targets.  He 
emphasized the EU and G-8 presidency agendas are still 
subject to internal discussion and vetting within the German 
government and will not be finalized until October cabinet 
meetings. 
KOENIG