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DE RUEHBR #1742/01 2561628
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9931
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 0761
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 5080
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 7119

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001742 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G-D.ROCHBERG, OES/EGC-E.FENDLEY AND D.NELSON 
DEPT PASS TO CEQ FOR E.LADT AND A.SCHMITZ 
ENERGY DEPARTMENT FOR S.EULE - CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV KGHG SENV ENRG KSCA BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL:  WASHINGTON SEPT. 27-28 MEETING ON CLIMATE CHANGE 
 
REF: (A) STATE 120600, (B) STATE 109657, 
 
(C) WHITEHOUSE 8020263, (D) STATE 75287, 
(E) BRASILIA 1674, (F) 2006 BRASILIA 2661 
(G) STATE 124748, (H) STATE 126444 
 
¶1.  (U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT FOR 
INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  Brazil will certainly attend the September 27-28 
meeting in Washington on climate change.  It appears the Ambassador 
Everton Vargas, the Under Secretary for Policy in the Ministry of 
Exterior Relations, will head the delegation.  Comment.  The 
Brazilians seem wary, preferring to see climate change negotiations 
under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), and they are likely 
to promote their proposal for financial rewards for voluntary 
reductions in deforestation rates.  END COMMENT AND SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On August 6, Post delivered the invitation letter from 
President Bush to President Lula for the September 27-28 meeting in 
Washington of representatives of major economies to discuss energy 
security and climate change.  (REFTEL C)  On August 22, Embassy's 
Environment, Science, Technology and Health (ESTH) Counselor and 
Political Counselor delivered the points in REFTEL B (as well as 
background information from REFTEL D), which urged support of the 
Government of Brazil's (GOB) active and high-level participation at 
the meeting, to Benedicto Fonseca Filho and Alexandre Kotzias 
Peixoto, Advisors in the Cabinet of the Minister of Exterior 
Relations (MRE), and also to the MRE's Director General for the 
Ministry of External Relations Environmental and Special Affairs, 
Min. Luiz Figueiredo Machado, and the Head of the Division of 
Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development, Counselor Raphael 
Azeredo.  On August 31, ESTH Counselor delivered the matrices with 
guidance on their completion from REFTEL A to Figueiredo Machado and 
Azeredo, who are the focal points within the GOB for climate change 
issues.  On September 11, ESTH Counselor delivered the revised 
agenda and the points in REFTEL H to Peixoto, Fonseca, Figueiredo 
Machado and Azeredo. 
 
DELEGATION COMPOSITION 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On September 4, Figueiredo Machado informed visiting OES 
Assistant Secretary Claudia McMurray and ESTH Counselor that the 
Brazilian delegation would most likely be headed by the MRE's Under 
Secretary for Policy, Amb. Everton Vargas.  He said the rest of the 
 
SIPDIS 
delegation was still being put together, and he wasn't sure if he 
would be attending or not.  In order to participate effectively, 
Figueiredo Machaco told Esth Counselor that the GOB would send a 
delegation "capable of collaborating," which perhaps would include 
members of the Ministry of Science and Technology.  At a separate 
meeting on August 28 with Dr. Thelma Krug, the Head of the Ministry 
of Environment's Climate Change Office, she told ESTH Counselor that 
she would be going.  (Comment.  We would expect Dr. Krug to attend, 
however, the MRE jealously guards its prerogative on putting the 
delegation together and has not yet confirmed her participation. 
End Comment.) 
 
¶5.  (SBU) COMMENT.  Amb. Vargas is a pivotal figure within the GOB 
on climate change.  He has been active in setting Brazil's 
environmental policies as far back as the 1992 Rio conference. 
Vargas is knowledgeable on the subject and he leads the MRE - which 
is the dominant player within the GOB on these issues - with regard 
to climate change.  END COMMENT. 
 
BRAZILIAN PRELIMINARY VIEWS 
 
¶6. (SBU) The GOB will certainly attend the meeting, but without much 
enthusiasm and plenty of wariness.  Entering into this uncharted 
series of meetings, they have been quick to highlight some of their 
key positions on climate change.  The GOB wants to keep the climate 
change negotiations under the familiar auspices of the UN Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  Figueiredo Machado 
characterized the Washington meeting as a chance to "reflect" on 
current climate change measures and achievements and the future of 
the UNFCC.  In a similar vein, the Vice Minister of Environment, 
Joao Paulo Capobianco told the press on September 4 that the United 
States plays a fundamental role in the question of climate change 
and, therefore, Brazil would attend the Washington meeting. 
However, Capobianco stressed that Brasil the matter must be decided 
through a UN process."  Two other principles Figueiredo Machado 
emphasized were that (1) there must be a balance among 
environmental, economic and social factors, and (2) one size does 
not fit all and there will need to be "common but differentiated 
responsibilities."  These views dovetail with those expressed by the 
Brazilians to the August 27-31 Vienna climate change talks reported 
 
BRASILIA 00001742  002 OF 002 
 
 
in REFTEL G. 
 
¶7. (SBU) One theme that we expect the GOB to raise at the Washington 
meeting and other climate change fora is the proposal for financial 
rewards for voluntary reductions in deforestation rate.  Post 
reported in REFETL F about this proposal, which Brazil submitted to 
the UNFCC in late 2006.  More recently, Brazil has reported further 
reductions in the deforestation rate (REFTEL E).  In light of these 
developments, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim has announced to the 
Brazilian Congress and to the press that Brazil would now get off 
the defensive on climate change and get on the offensive.  (REFTEL 
E)  COMMENT.  Post expects we will hear much more about this 
proposal from the GOB as the debate over a post-Kyoto Protocol 
agreement proceeds.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶8.  (U) In an interview published on September 9 in O Estado de Sao 
Paulo, Environment Minister Marina Silva made several points that 
may reflect the GOB position in Washington.  She emphasized that the 
United States, Europe and the world recognized the key role Brazil 
plays in any negotiations on climate change.  Further, she stated 
that Brazil is the defender of the concept "common, but 
differentiated responsibilities".  Regarding climate change 
negotiations, she said that Brazil has a firm position:  "developed 
countries must assume and comply with targets, while developing 
countries, although not having to assume mandatory targets, have to 
assume responsibilities and commitments." 
 
ADDITIONAL CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Foreign Minister's Cabinet and Figueiredo Machado were 
both somewhat perplexed by the presence of Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) Chairman Jim Connaughton as head of the U.S. 
delegation and were wondering about Secretary Rice's role.  ESTH 
Counselor and POL Counselor explained the significance of CEQ, which 
is part of the White House and has both a domestic and international 
role.  On a different matter, the GOB interlocutors worried about 
the role of private sector and NGOs at this meeting:  how would they 
be selected; if and when would they be allowed to speak; and, what 
role is envisioned for them in the process.  COMMENT.  The MRE has 
long been cautious of NGOs participation in governmental 
discussions, and this is no exception.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) COMMENT.  The GOB may question its ranking as one of the 
top emitters, which is largely due to the release of carbon 
connected with ongoing deforestation.  Krug from the Environment 
Minister told ESTH Counselor that Brazil disputes the way the 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calculates its 
emissions.  She asserts that if forests in Brazil were properly 
considered Brazil would drop out of the ranks of the top emitters. 
She even asserted that Brazil will be at zero emissions in the near 
future, due primarily to Brazil's clean energy grid and its ability 
to offset emission via carbon credits gained through forest 
management policies.  Some Brazilian states, such as Amazonas, 
already have enjoyed some success with policies to reward businesses 
and communities for avoided deforestation.  The GOB hopes that its 
compensated deforestation reduction plan could have a similar effect 
at the national level with an eye toward addressing global climate 
change.  END COMMENT. 
 
CHICOLA