VZCZCXRO8593
OO RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHRL #0038/01 0101029
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101029Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0172
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0919
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0291
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0248
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0691
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0117
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 0307
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 1899
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0514
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 1114
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 9313
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 0253
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 0540
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1552
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 000038 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ: CONNAUGHTON, SCHMIDT, LADT 
NSC FOR DAN PRICE, JONATHAN SCHRIER 
STATE FOR "G" - DOBRIANKSY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV KGHG ENRG PGOV PREL GM
SUBJECT: GERMANY TO ATTEND JANUARY 30 MEM DESPITE MISGIVINGS 
 
REF: 07 LONDON 00069 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Germany will send a delegation to the 
January 30 Major Economies Meeting (MEM) although they remain 
skeptical about the value-added that the Major Economies 
Process (MEP) brings to the UNFCCC process. German officials 
are expressing concerns about the frequency and scope of the 
MEP and want to avoid duplication of effort in the various 
climate change-related forums, including the UNFCCC and the 
G-8. While requesting a clearer articulation of the expected 
MEP deliverables, our interlocutors hope the MEP will avoid 
discussion of adaptation, deforestation or measurement. They 
also provided more information on German Environment Minister 
Sigmar Gabriel's comments during the recent UNFCCC conference 
in Bali. End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
The German Delegation to Hawaii 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) German officials assured us Germany will be 
represented at the MEM, although the German delegation for 
Hawaii has not yet been finalized. German Environment 
Minister Sigmar Gabriel cannot got to Hawaii due to a 
previously scheduled trip to China. Environment State 
Secretary Matthias Machnig may go in his place, as will 
 
SIPDIS 
Karsten Sach, Deputy Director General for International 
Cooperation, and Carolin Zerger, Desk Officer for the 
Strategic Aspects of International Cooperation within the 
Environment Ministry. From the Foreign Ministry, either 
Reinhardt Krapp, head of the Environmental Issues Division, 
or his boss Viktor Elbling, Commissioner for International 
Energy Policy, Globalization and Sustainable Development, 
will attend. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Concerns about Frequency and Scope of the MEP 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In post-Bali discussions with the Embassy, German 
officials have expressed concerns about the MEP, in 
particular the frequency of Major Economies Meetings. Sach 
told EconOff on January 3 that while "the U.S. has endless 
resources," other nations do not. Dr. Martin Bergfelder, 
climate change negotiator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
similarly claimed that many other MEP countries, including EU 
President Slovenia, do not have the resources to attend 
multiple climate change meetings. Sach wanted to know 
specifically how many MEP meetings would take place this 
year, and when. Bergfelder asked about the possibility of 
combining the proposed summer MEP summit with the G-8 summit 
in Japan. The MFA's Krapp suggested it would be better for 
German public perception if the MEP was seen to be guided by 
the G8 5 Gleneagles Process. Both Bergfelder and Krapp, in 
reference to a January 3 discussion between G-8 Sherpa Daniel 
Price and his German counterpart Bernd Pfaffenbach, asked 
whether MEP issues would now be a part of the first day of 
the Hokkaido summit. 
 
¶4. (SBU) German officials want to limit the scope of the MEP 
to avoid duplication of negotiations in other fora. Sach, 
Bergfelder and Krapp all mentioned climate change issues 
being taken up in the UNFCCC process, the G-8, the OECD, 
US-EU talks, the Heiligendamm Process and various working 
groups. They feel it is necessary to clarify which process 
does what and to coordinate all the processes together. Sach 
said that "no one has a clear vision yet" for defining the 
scope and deliverables of each process. Echoing UK comments 
(reftel), Krapp asked, "What is the value-added of the MEP?" 
Zerger requested to know what, specifically, is expected of 
the MEP working groups. 
 
BERLIN 00000038  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Our interlocutors would prefer that the MEP not 
cover the issues of adaptation or deforestation. Since many 
countries most affected by these issues "are not at the 
table," Sach explained, "it would be unfair" to discuss these 
topics. Krapp said "we can advance (deforestation 
negotiations) under the G-8," given that the Forestry Carbon 
Partnership already exists. In addition, Sach, Zerger and 
Bergfelder all stressed that measurement should fall under 
the UNFCCC, and existing international standards should be 
used. Finally, Sach and Bergfelder both noted that Germany 
would prefer to use existing funding institutions, like the 
World Bank, for financing the distribution of clean energy 
technologies. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Context of Gabriel's Comments in Bali 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) On December 13, German Environment Minister Sigmar 
Gabriel captured international headlines when he suggested 
that EU member states might pull out of the MEP if mid-term 
climate reduction targets were not included in the Bali 
roadmap. Sach said the Germans considered issuance of the 
Hawaii MEP invitation during the first week of the Bali 
conference -- before any UNFCCC agreement had been reached -- 
to be premature since President Bush had "clearly committed 
to moving forward with both processes (UNFCCC and MEP)." 
Bergfelder said, "In the most diplomatic way possible, let me 
say that the negotiations were very very slow... it seemed 
U.S. negotiators only wanted to work through the MEP. This 
was not what was agreed to at Heiligendamm." Sach stressed 
that the EU had made its position clear in the conclusions of 
its Environment Council meetings and that the EU desire to 
include IPCC targets in the Bali roadmap did not represent a 
change in the EU position. Within the EU block, Bergfelder 
singled out France and Portugal as countries that helped 
prompt Gabriel's remarks. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) German climate change negotiators appear skeptical 
about the MEP, suspecting the U.S. is using it to undermine 
or at least drastically slow the pace of the UNFCCC process. 
Providing German policymakers with specific, focused 
deliverables and a more detailed vision of how MEP outcomes 
will feed into and support the UNFCCC process will help to 
convince Germany that the MEP truly does "add value." Embassy 
Berlin will continue to engage the Environment and Foreign 
Ministries, as well as the Federal Chancellery, to press our 
message. The January 21 visit of Harlan Watson also presents 
an excellent opportunity to address German concerns and 
enlist their support. 
TIMKEN JR