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PP RUEHAG RUEHROV
DE RUEHLI #2503/01 2690928
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 260928Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY LISBON
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RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0122
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RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 0168
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RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0495

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 002503 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2017 
TAGS: SENV KGHG ENRG EU PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGAL: CEQ CHAIRMAN CONNAUGHTON AND AMBASSADOR 
GRAY DISCUSS MAJOR ECONOMIES MEETING 
 
REF: STATE 109658 
 
Classified By: Inga Heemink, Pol/Econ Officer, Embassy Lisbon, 
Reasons 1.4(b) and 1.4(d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  In Lisbon September 12-13, Chairman of the 
White House Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) James 
Connaughton and USEU Ambassador Gray discussed with 
Portuguese officials the upcoming Major Economies Meeting 
(MEM) on climate change and energy security.  The Portuguese 
interlocutors warmly welcomed the President's initiative but 
underscored their hope that the MEM would feed into, not 
rival, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate 
Change (UNFCCC) talks in Bali in December.  The Portuguese 
expressed great concern about the speaking times allocated to 
Portugal, as EU president, and the European Commission (EC) 
in the current MEM agenda - citing that the need for them to 
treated as separate entities.  The Portuguese delegation to 
the MEM will be led by Secretary of State for Environment 
Humberto Rosa and include representatives from the Ministry 
of Environment, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs.  Portugal has selected the countries that 
will provide the four senior-level technical experts: 
Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, and Denmark.  End Summary. 
 
Meetings 
-------- 
 
¶2. (U) On September 12, Ambassador Hoffman hosted a dinner 
for Chairman Connaughton and Ambassador Gray attended by 
Minister of Environment Francisco Nunes Correia, key 
Portuguese officials responsible for climate change policy, 
and French and British diplomats.  On September 13, they met 
with State 
Secretary for Environment Humberto Rosa; Fausto Brito e 
 
SIPDIS 
Abreu, Advisor to Humberto Rosa; Tiago Antunes, Prime 
Minister Socrates' Advisor for Climate and Energy; Nuno 
LaCasta, Ministry of Environment Director-General for 
Climate; and Miguel Sousa e Almeida, Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MFA) Deputy Director-General for Technical and 
Economic Affairs.  Connaughton and Gray also met separately 
with Joao Conceicao, Energy Advisor to the Minister of 
Economy. 
 
Portugal Welcomes U.S. Engagement on Climate Change 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (C) In all their exchanges, Connaughton and Gray explained 
the objectives of the Major Economies Meeting and general 
U.S. views on climate change and energy security, and 
highlighted measures taken by the United States to tackle the 
effects of climate change.  Minister Nunes Correia and State 
Secretary Rosa warmly welcomed the President,s initiative 
 
SIPDIS 
and determination to take a leadership role in the climate 
change and energy security dialogue.  Nunes Correia, in 
particular, praised the U.S. decision to "re-engage" in 
post-2012 global climate change talks.  Conceicao also 
appreciated the U.S. linkage of energy security and climate 
change, agreeing with Connaughton that environment 
specialists might articulate the problem but it was the 
economic and finance ministries who were entrusted to finance 
the solution(s). 
 
MEM Must Be Part of UN Framework 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Both Nunes Correia and Rosa noted that it was 
essential for the MEM to be part of the UNFCCC process, not 
parallel to it.  Rosa in particular feared that any thing 
that detracted attention from Bali would generate a "climate 
of suspicion" in world public opinion.  Connaughton 
underscored that the President's initiative was never 
intended to rival the UNFCCC but rather help accelerate the 
process of post-2012 talks.  By having the major economies 
meet in a small group and agree on general principles for a 
global framework, with a focus on nationally defined mid-term 
goals and sector-based approaches, it would then be easier 
for a larger group of nations to start negotiating the finer 
details in Bali and in subsequent meetings. 
 
 
LISBON 00002503  002 OF 002 
 
 
Delegation to MEM 
----------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Humberto Rosa will lead the Portuguese delegation to 
the MEM.  He will be accompanied by Fausto Brito e Abreu, 
Tiago Antunes, and Nuno Lacasta.  As EU president, Portugal 
was also asked to select four senior-level technical experts 
to attend the meeting.  Rosa reported that he has chosen 
representatives from Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, and Denmark 
but the names of the specific individuals have not yet been 
confirmed.  The Portuguese technical expert will be either 
Miguel Almeida e Sousa or Paulo Nascimento, MFA Director for 
International Economic Organizations.  The rationale behind 
the selection of technical experts was Slovenia,s upcoming 
assumption of the EU presidency on January 1, 2008, Poland,s 
hosting of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP-14) in 2008 
in Poznan, and Denmark,s hosting of the same event in 2009 
in Copenhagen. 
 
Press coverage 
-------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Chairman Connaughton and Ambassador Gray granted 
separate interviews on September 13 to the Portuguese 
newswire agency Lusa.  Connaughton highlighted U.S. measures 
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and noted that Portugal is 
well-positioned to harness sun, wind, and water as 
alternative sources of energy.  Ambassador Gray, in turn, 
urged Portugal to consider investing in nuclear energy as one 
means of addressing the question of energy independence. 
Asked about Kosovo final status negotiations, Ambassador Gray 
underlined that the U.S. and EU are collaborating in the 
search for a solution.  The interviews were published on the 
Lusa website under the headlines "U.S. Believes that Portugal 
Should Invest in Nuclear Energy" and "USA wants Accord With 
EU in the Fight Against Climate Change".  We will forward 
separately full translations of the articles. 
 
¶7. (U) This cable was cleared by Chairman Connaughton and 
Ambassador Gray. 
Hoffman