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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 NEW DELHI 004815 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/EGC, AND SCA/INS 
STATE FOR STAS 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO THE ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE 
 
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL 
INTERIOR FOR FWS RILEY 
STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SENV ECON KGHG KSCA IN
 
SUBJECT:  ASIA-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP ON CLEAN DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE 
MINISTERIAL MEETING SHOWCASES PROGRESS, PROJECTS, AND CANADIAN 
MEMBERSHIP 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Founding Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and 
Climate (APP) Partners Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and 
the United States officially welcomed Canada as the seventh member 
of the Partnership at a productive Ministerial Meeting hosted by the 
Government of India in New Delhi on October 15, 2007.  Partners 
released a Communiqu welcoming Canada, showcasing flagship projects 
and a new virtual Energy Technology Cooperation Center, and 
highlighted progress made since the last Ministerial meeting in 
January 2006.  Supportive public and private comments by attending 
officials, funding announcements like a USG FY07 $45 million 
commitment and an Australian Government commitment of an additional 
50 million AUD (bringing its total contribution to 150 million AUD), 
and robust government and industry participation in the second APP 
Ministerial meeting underscore what Minister of External Affairs 
Shri Pranab Mukherjee called the "credibility" and "importance of 
[the Asia-Pacific Partnership] in addressing the crucial issue of 
clean development and climate for all [Partner] countries." 
 
Ministerial Meeting Deliverables 
-------------------------------- 
¶2.  (U) Communiqu Adopted:  The New Delhi Communiqu is available 
at www.asiapacificpartnership.org/DelhiCommuniqu e.pdf 
The Communiqu highlights the considerable progress made since the 
inaugural Sydney Ministerial, welcomes the addition of Canada as a 
seventh partner, notes creation of eight Action Plans and 
endorsement of more than 100 collaborative projects, highlights the 
importance of strong collaboration with and support from the private 
sector, and announces the launch of the implementation phase of the 
"Asia-Pacific Energy Technology Co-operation Centre." 
 
¶3.  (U) Flagship Projects:  Eighteen flagship projects spanning the 
work of the eight Task Forces - Aluminum, Buildings and Appliances, 
Cement, Cleaner Fossil Energy, Coal Mining, Power Generation and 
Transmission, Renewable Energy and Distributed Generation, and Steel 
- were announced, exemplifying the different types of cooperative 
actions being undertaken by Partners.  Full details about the 
flagship projects can be found by visiting 
www.asiapacificpartnership.org/2ndMinisterial / 
Flagship%20brochure%20FINAL.pdf 
 
 
Grants Awards Launch Event 
-------------------------- 
¶4.  (U) SciOffs attended and helped organize an October 12, 2007 
launch event for State Department-funded grant awards in support of 
APP projects in India.  The DCM opened this event, announcing that 
twelve grants totaling 6.5M USD will be awarded to Indian 
 
NEW DELHI 00004815  002 OF 006 
 
 
organizations working together with U.S. partners to complete key 
projects in India and that an additional 4.15M USD has been awarded 
to USAID's New Delhi mission to further support the work of the 
Partnership.  Prospective grantees presented project summaries, 
interacted with key DOS program management contacts, and expressed 
interest in using synergies among their individual projects to 
multiply overall project results. 
 
Bilateral Conversations 
----------------------- 
¶5.  (SBU) Chairman Connaughton had bilateral meetings with Japanese 
Senior Vice-Minister Masashi Nakano and Japanese Ambassador for 
Global Environmental Affairs Kyoji Komachi.  Senior Vice-Minister 
Nakano and Ambassador Komachi both highlighted the momentum the APP 
has gained since the Sydney Ministerial and expressed a strong 
desire to keep the momentum going by holding regular ministerial 
meetings.  Nakano noted the success of the sector-based approach in 
sharing best practices in the Coal Mining and Steel Task Forces and 
hoped the United States could tak the lead in accomplishing the 
same thing in the Power Generation and Transmission Task Force. 
Nakano also expressed his belief that achievements made in the APP 
will have a large impact on both the post-Kyoto negotiations and the 
Major Economies Meeting (MEM) process.  He concluded by stressing 
that the upcoming Bali Conference of Parties would be very important 
in discussing the future framework of the UNFCCC and that he desired 
Japan and the United States to take the lead in Bali. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Chairman Connaughton responded that the next six months 
were very important and that for the United States to participate 
effectively in the UN setting all countries need to share 
responsibility - including developing countries such as India and 
China.  He noted the European approach under the Kyoto Protocol was 
unworkable and that the likely outcome would be to force the United 
States to impose new tariffs as opposed to transferring money to 
developing countries.  Chairman Connaughton stated that the Bali 
conference should be focused on scheduling and not on substance in 
order to allow the MEM process time to work noting the MEM was 
essential to rapid UN agreement on a post-Kyoto framework. 
 
Evening with Industry Event 
--------------------------- 
¶7.  (SBU) An "Interactive Industry Evening on Technology and Finance 
for Clean Development" event, co-sponsored by two Indian industry 
associations and MoEF, was held following the Ministerial and 
attended by APP delegates and industry representatives from India. 
Presentations from GOI officials emphasized the need for a climate 
strategy addressing both mitigation and adaptation.  Former MoEF 
Secretary Dr. Prodipto Ghosh, now an advisor to the Prime Minister's 
 
SIPDIS 
Council on Climate Change, praised the Partnership's cooperative 
approach while expressing interest in initiating a new round of 
 
NEW DELHI 00004815  003 OF 006 
 
 
projects and creating task forces to address agricultural, forestry 
and water issues.  Executive Director of the International Energy 
Agency, Nobuo Tanaka, commented upon the need for increased 
information and data sharing within the Aluminum, Cement, and Steel 
Task Forces.  CEQ Chairman Jim Connaughton recognized the importance 
of industry in responding to climate change and emphasized the 
government's ability to "help leverage investment." 
 
Partner Country Perspectives 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) India:  Minister of External Affairs Shri Pranab Mukherjee 
opened the Ministerial meeting with an inaugural address officially 
welcoming Canada and emphasizing that strong meeting attendance and 
Canada's interest in joining the APP "underscores the credibility" 
and importance of the Partnership.  GOI noted that India's national 
development goals call for sustained economic growth of 8-10 
percent, increased per capita energy consumption, and expanded 
access for nearly half of India's population currently living 
without electricity.  In order to accomplish these goals in a 
sustainable manner, national strategy policies focus on promoting 
energy efficiency and conservation, using market mechanisms and 
deploying advanced clean energy technologies.  In addition to 
recognizing the importance of technological and financial resources, 
GOI suggested pursuing collaborations between developing and 
developed country research and development institutions to address 
the lack of research and development efforts focused on the 
"requirements and resource endowments of developing countries." 
Intellectual property rights issues were also raised, with GOI 
expressing interest in creating a "fairer" balance between 
compensation for innovators and the greater good of society.  GOI 
reaffirmed their commitment to the APP and to combating climate 
change; recognizing the consistency of APP efforts with the 
principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. 
Minister of State for Environment and Forests Shri Namo Meena 
chaired the meeting. 
 
¶9.  (U) Australia:  Government of Australia (GOA) announced a 
further funding commitment of 50 million AUD in support of the 
Asia-Pacific Partnership, raising Australia's total contribution to 
150 million AUD and enabling expanded participation beyond its 
current involvement in 63 projects across the eight Task Forces. 
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ambassador for Environment 
Jan Adams thanked the GOI for hosting the meeting, welcomed Canada 
into the APP, and observed that their endorsement of the partnership 
reaffirmed the strength of this approach, stating that APP involves 
a different type of cooperation focused on "real, practical, and 
commercially relevant" actions and on harnessing the potential of 
private sector.  Adams explained that a call for elections precluded 
Foreign Minister Downer, Environment Minister Turnbull, and Industry 
 
NEW DELHI 00004815  004 OF 006 
 
 
Minister MacFarlane from attending the meeting and conveyed their 
regrets. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) China:  National Development and Reform Commission 
Director-General Gao Guangsheng thanked the host country for 
sponsoring the meeting, discussed China's climate change strategy, 
and provided substantive recommendations for the direction of the 
Partnership.  China indicated it utilizes a sustainable development 
framework to address climate change, noting that the APP fits this 
model and is complementary to the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol.  He 
highlighted that too date, China has hosted three Task Force 
meetings and participated in more than twenty APP projects and 
recognizes the need for continued "international cooperation on 
technology, research and development, transfer and dissemination of 
technology."  China emphasized that technological advancement is at 
the core of a successful climate change solution, noting that "the 
price of technology transfer and dissemination" is equally as 
important as technology development, creation of a mechanism for 
tech transfer, and deployment of advanced clean technologies.  Gao 
Guangsheng noted that APP projects focus on "soft activities," 
neglecting the potential for joint research and development projects 
between developed and developing countries and underscoring the need 
for developed countries to provide financial and technical support 
to assist developing countries and create a "favorable environment 
for private sectors."  He added that the Partnership needed to 
address the "issue of establishing a financial mechanism" and to 
expand climate-friendly investment through policy and financing 
instruments.  China also stated that financial and technical support 
must be provided from developed countries and international 
financing institutions to assist developing countries to "import and 
absorb advanced clean technologies and improve their capacities of 
mitigating and adapting to climate change."  DG Gao reminded the 
group that Partner countries were welcomed to invest in China's 
priority areas of work under the APP, including advanced energy 
efficiency technologies, clean coal, renewable energy, methane 
recovery and utilization, and energy efficient buildings. 
 
¶11.  (U) Japan:  Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Vice 
Minister Masashi Nakano expressed gratitude to the host country and 
noted Japan's continued commitment to develop, deploy, and 
disseminate appropriate and advanced clean technologies.  Japan 
indicated its private sector and environmental institutions remain 
actively involved in and supportive of the Partnership. 
 
¶12.  (U) Korea:  Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy Vice 
Minister Jae Hoon Lee recognized the world's increasing attention to 
climate change and discussed Korea's recent APP and other climate 
initiatives.  Lee announced the launch of the implementation phase 
of Korea's proposed "Asia-Pacific Energy Technology Cooperation 
Centre" (ETCC) to facilitate exchanges of energy-efficiency 
 
NEW DELHI 00004815  005 OF 006 
 
 
information and best practices between private and public sectors of 
the Partner countries.  Details of the ETCC operations will be 
discussed at the next Policy and Implementation Committee (PIC) 
meeting.  Korea stated that it remains actively engaged in the APP 
and noted that the Partnership has generated involvement in a 
significant number of projects and substantial participation from 
both their private and public sectors.  Vice Minister Lee indicated 
that a key component of Korea's climate strategy is decreasing 
energy intensity by using existing fuels more efficiently in the 
short run and seeking alternative carbon-free energy sources in the 
long run.  The Vice Minister highlighted the fact that voluntary and 
compulsory national policies include a recently announced goal of 
forty percent lower energy intensity by 2030, increased reliance on 
renewable energy in the energy supply mix, establishment of a 
certified carbon market, compulsory energy auditing for buildings, 
and raised Average Fuel Economy Standard. 
 
¶13.  (U) United States:  Chairman of the Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) Jim Connaughton led the US delegation and delivered 
remarks highlighting recent accomplishments of the Partnership.  Mr. 
Connaughton announced an FY 07 allocation of 45M USD to support APP 
projects and activities, noting that these funds are expected to 
leverage 120M USD in additional clean energy financing.  He noted 
that the Department of Commerce was looking forward to increased 
investment as an outcome of an upcoming clean energy trade mission 
to China and India later this year, building upon a successful 
reverse trade mission with India on renewable energy last year that 
yielded preliminary clean technology trade and investment 
commitments  valued at an expected 12M USD.  Connaughton cited 
identification of eighteen flagship projects as a testament to the 
Partnership's significant progress and focus on implementing 
concrete, practical actions.  He also highlighted recent successes 
including the formation of a Health and Safety Steering Committee in 
the Coal Mining Task Force and facilitation of technical exchanges 
between engineers in the Power Generation and Transmission Task 
Force.  Mr. Connaughton welcomed Canada into the Partnership and 
thanked the host country, conveying the regrets of President Bush 
and SecState Rice. 
 
¶14.  (U) Canada:  Deputy Minister of Environment Michael Horgan 
underscored the value of the APP's approach focusing on cooperation 
with the private sector, and expressed appreciation for Partner 
countries' support and welcomes of Canada as a seventh member. 
Canada indicated it looks forward to actively participating in the 
work of the Task Forces; capitalizing on the "considerable resources 
and expertise" it was to offer, building upon "positive and very 
productive conversations" already held with its private sector in 
five of the eight Task Forces areas, and presenting new projects 
supporting the goals of the Partnership.  The Deputy Minister 
highlighted increasing energy efficiency and deploying clean energy 
 
NEW DELHI 00004815  006 OF 006 
 
 
technologies as high priorities for Canada, as are development of 
the related financing and investment schemes and regulatory and 
legal frameworks.  Additionally, Mr. Horgan noted the government is 
investing 1.5 billion USD to increase the use of renewable energy 
and is particularly interested in carbon capture and storage 
technologies.  Horgan also conveyed the regrets of Environment 
Minister Baird, who was unable to attend the meeting due to 
Parliamentary duties. 
 
 
¶15.  This cable has been cleared by James Connaughton. 
 
MULFORD