VZCZCXRO1180
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #0126/01 0251224
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251224Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0915
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 1507
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 5720
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 7632
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 0070
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE 0212
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR 0167
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000126 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC AND GREG MANUEL 
EEB/ESC JAMES EIGHMIE 
NSC FOR FEARS AND DAVID MCCORMICK 
DOE FOR GWARD, AKARSNER, BBARTON 
USDOC FOR 4332/ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC/JANDERSEN/ADRISCOLL/MWAR D 
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USCS/OIO/WH/RD/DRAMBO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG EPET PREL BR
SUBJECT: Brazil: Biofuels Meeting with MRE's Division of Renewable 
Energy 
 
A) Corneille/Haendler e-mails 1/17/08 B) 07 State 168092 C) McManus 
e-mail 1/23 
 
¶1.  Summary:  EconOffs and ESTHOffs met January 22 with Ministry of 
External Relations (MRE) interlocutors to discuss next steps on our 
Biofuels MOU, and used the opportunity to introduce the MRE to new 
economic deputy and energy officer. Claudia Vieira Santos and 
Marcelo Solomao Martinez clarified GOB plans for several upcoming 
meetings:  the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 
(WIREC); the International Biofuels Forum; bilateral meetings of the 
Biofuels Steering Committee and its Advisory Group; and an upcoming 
biofuels conference to be held in November in Brazil, to which 
President Bush will be invited.  MRE committed to confirm Vargas 
availability for proposed March 4 Steering Committee; promised names 
for the advisory group will be forthcoming "very soon;" were unable 
to provide a date yet for the next science exchange and promised to 
obtain a final copy of the report on the Brazilian scientists' trip 
to the United States; and committed to follow up on the question of 
a joint presentation at the IDB conference, getting a final copy of 
the report on the scientists' exchange, and finding out when the 
FGV's reports on the DR and El Salvador will be completed.  MRE also 
expressed some concern regarding the pace and timing for selecting 
second tranche countries.  END SUMMARY 
 
----- 
WIREC 
----- 
 
¶2.  In response to questions by ESTH Counselor regarding plans for 
the March 7 Washington International Renewable Energy Conference in 
Washington (WIREC), Santos said that Acting Minister of Mines and 
Energy, Nelson Hubner, has stepped down and will not participate. 
It is unlikely that the new Minister, Edison Lobao - just sworn in 
on January 21 - will participate.  Brazil may send someone else, 
possibly his newly appointed vice minister, Marcio Zimmermann. 
Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes will not be available but 
will nominate someone high-level in his stead.  In addition, Santos 
indicated some GOB confusion regarding the designation of an 
"official delegation" when WIREC is a mixed conference of both 
government and non-government attendees.  MRE would be reluctant to 
take responsibility for credentialing non-government Brazilian 
participants who may not be known to the MRE.  ESTH Counselor 
assured her that he would pass her concern to Washington.  He also 
clarified that the official invitation to form a delegation had gone 
only to Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.  The Embassy had delivered 
separate invitations to speak or take part as panelists to Science 
and Technology Minister Rezende, EMBRAPA head Crestana, and 
Petrobras CEO Gabrielli.  According to Santos, the MRE delegation 
will likely include the new Director for the MRE Department of 
Energy, Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago (currently Brazil's deputy 
head of mission at the European Union mission in Brussels), Santos, 
and possibly Martinez. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Scientific/Technical Exchange Visit to Brazil 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  Regarding a long-proposed trip by U.S. scientists and experts to 
Brazil (a follow-up, reciprocal visit to the trip by their Brazilian 
counterparts to U.S. Department of Energy laboratories in September, 
2007), Santos indicated that the GOB hopes to have a general 
itinerary available by the end of this month.  However, she noted 
that January and February are like the U.S.'s July and August and 
specifics are hard to come by with the relevant 
university-affiliated scientists and researchers on summer vacation. 
 The MRE hopes that the visit can take place in March after school 
resumes.  She did indicate that the Brazilian scientists' report 
from their visit last year is nearly ready. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Steering Committee and Advisory Group 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Santos said that from Undersecretary Vargas's perspective, the 
week of Feb. 25-29 still looked good for the next bilateral Steering 
Committee meeting.  Econoffs reiterated that that week was 
 
BRASILIA 00000126  002 OF 003 
 
 
problematic for Undersecretary Jeffery and once again proffered 
March 4 as a possible date.  Santos will check with Vargas's office. 
 According to Santos, although the MRE has reached out to the 
institutions and companies previously provided to Washington as 
Brazil's choices for the Advisory Group, the government has not yet 
come to closure on the exact participants to be named for each 
identified institution.  As soon as that is known, they will pass 
the information to us. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
IDB Annual Conference, FGV and Winrock Cooperation 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5.  Post passed along Washington's hope that Winrock consultants 
would be able to join the Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) in making a 
joint presentation on their work in El Salvador and the Dominican 
Republic at the IDB annual meeting in Miami.  Santos said her office 
would follow up with the GOB's IDB contacts and the FGV to get more 
information about the nature of the presentation and find out if 
that would be possible.  She agreed that if the FGV is presenting 
its work on biofuels in the Dominican Republic or El Salvador, a 
joint presentation might be in order since both FGV and Winrock were 
working there, but that decision would be up to the IDB.  She 
indicated she would discuss with Ambassador Simoes, as well as 
Emerson Kloss at the Brazilian Embassy in Washington.  Santos 
briefly outlined progress so far, with Winrock and FGV working in 
parallel and with different methodologies and perhaps different 
timetables in mind, alluding to Brazil being "more relaxed" but also 
detailing the various steps and methodologies that FGV has 
undertaken to show the thoroughness of its process.  She indicated 
that she was unable to respond to our more specific questions 
regarding FGV's current work, but that her staff was meeting with 
FGV in Rio and might have more answers shortly. 
 
---------------------------- 
Second Tranche of Countries? 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Santos said that the question of the second tranche of countries 
was still being analyzed by the GOB-not in terms of what countries 
would comprise the list, but whether we should continue to pursue 
the idea of a second group of countries at this juncture.  At the 
end of the last Steering Group meeting, Santos contended, both 
Undersecretaries Vargas and Jeffery had agreed it would be premature 
to decide on new countries.  According to Santos, at higher levels 
of the GOB there is concern not to rush this decision.  She conveyed 
the belief of some in the GOB that it would be better to be able to 
demonstrate concrete results with the first group of countries 
before moving on to the second.  "To promise and not deliver is not 
good," she said, asserting that progress in some aspects has been 
delayed in the first tranche and yet even so, "some people think 
it's too fast."  However, she did share her personal assessment that 
the GOB would eventually see its way clear to moving on to a second 
tranche, although the timing of this decision would be key.  She 
committed to gather more information on what GOB would therefore 
suggest as next steps. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Looking Ahead to November and a Likely Invitation for POTUS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  In addition to the International Biofuels Forum (IBF) meeting in 
Washington in March, Santos shared plans for a large international 
biofuels conference to be held in Brazil in mid-November.  According 
to Santos, the GOB plans to invite President Bush to speak. 
 
---------- 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶8.  Though unable to answer definitively all ref a questions, Santos 
committed to follow up with concrete responses. Delays in decision 
making could be partially attributed to the extended summer vacation 
in Brazil combined with the imminent departure of the head of the 
MRE's Department of Energy, Amb. Antonio Simoes.  His replacement, 
Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago is scheduled to take over on 
 
BRASILIA 00000126  003 OF 003 
 
 
February 18.  Post understands that EEB heard 1/23 from Brazilian 
Embassy in Washington (ref c) that Brasilia is now proposing two 
dates for the visit of US Scientists to Brazil: March 31-April 4 or 
April 7-11; that the Brazilian Private Sector Advisory Committee 
will be named imminently; and that capital will respond "very soon" 
on Steering Committee dates.   Post will follow up with MRE on all 
outstanding items. 
 
SOBEL