VZCZCXRO9397
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHRL #0475/01 1071009
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161009Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0919
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1565
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1923
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 1121

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 000475 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G, OES, E, EEB, AND EUR 
PLEASE PASS CEQ - CONNAUGHTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG TRGY KGHG KPAO KSCA GM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S APRIL 15 MEETING WITH 
ENVIRONMENT MINISTER GABRIEL 
 
REF: A. BERLIN 428 
 
     ¶B. 07 BERLIN 2077 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  German Environment Minister 
Gabriel told the Ambassador that Germany 
recognizes the role sectoral approaches will play 
in supporting global efforts to reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions.  Gabriel views the Major Economies 
Process as the key forum for building consensus 
to support efforts toward a post-2012 framework 
agreement, but believes developed countries need 
to show more leadership by taking initial 
responsibility before China, India, and other 
emerging economies can be convinced to undertake 
binding commitments.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
GABRIEL RECOGNIZES VALUE OF MEP AND SECTORAL 
APPROACH 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador, accompanied by EMIN and 
Econoff, met with German Environment Minister 
Sigmar Gabriel April 15 to seek German support 
for a forward-leaning Major Economies Leaders 
Declaration on the margins of the July 2008 G-8 
Summit in Japan.  Gabriel was accompanied by 
Environment Ministry Deputy Director General for 
International Cooperation (and Germany's lead 
climate change negotiator) Karsten Sach.  Gabriel 
expressed strong support for the Major Economies 
Process (MEP), noting that the MEP will be for 
the foreseeable future "the forum" where 
decisions will be made among the 20 major 
economies.  "Whatever is discussed in the 
UNFCCC," Gabriel said, "the MEP will be needed to 
bring the 20 countries on board." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Gabriel said the most interesting 
discussion at the first Major Economies Meeting 
in September 2007 was the emphasis the U.S. had 
placed on the Montreal Protocol as an example of 
the successful application of a sectoral 
approach.  At the end of the day, Gabriel 
predicted, the post-2012 framework agreement will 
employ a mixture of global and sectoral 
approaches.  Pointing to the ongoing discussion 
among EU member states, Gabriel said that the EU 
would not be able to accept a global treaty 
without looking at sectoral agreements in at 
least five energy-intensive areas, including auto 
manufacturing and steel.  "We need to create the 
prospect for European industry of a level playing 
field," he added. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In response to the Ambassador's request 
that Germany support the U.S. call for all major 
economies (including China and other emerging 
economies) to take on binding commitments, 
Gabriel agreed that the emerging economies would 
need to make binding commitments in the UNFCCC 
process, but insisted that developed countries -- 
and the United States in particular -- must "show 
leadership" by being the first ones to make a 
commitment.  The Ambassador stressed the 
importance of recognizing that each country has a 
different starting point, but that does not 
diminish the need to press countries to make 
commitments that they are willing to live by. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
GERMAN CONCERNS ON LEADERS DECLARATION MAINLY 
PROCEDURAL 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) In a follow-on discussion with EMIN and 
Econoff, Sach said that he and colleagues at the 
Federal Chancellery had not yet seen the revised 
 
BERLIN 00000475  002 OF 003 
 
 
draft of the Leaders Declaration, but noted that 
the emerging economies continued to reject 
anything that might go beyond a "political" 
statement.  Sach said Germany's concern about the 
Leaders Declaration is more procedural in nature. 
Germany would like discussion on the Leaders 
Declaration to be more closely coordinated with 
the G-8 Sherpas' discussions on the G-8 Summit 
Declaration to ensure consistency in the way both 
declarations are framed. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Specifically, Sach said, Germany would 
like to use the G-8 Summit Declaration to move 
the emerging economies toward sectoral approaches 
by laying out a series of benchmarks that would 
gradually level the playing field over the course 
of several years.  Sach speculated that the G-8 
Summit Declaration might state that G-8 leaders 
consider halving emissions by 2050 to be 
adequate, but note that the G-8 countries need 
help to do it.  This would increase pressure on 
the emerging economies to step up at the G8 + O5 
meeting the following day and/or at the follow-on 
MEP Leaders press conference.  Developed 
countries must first show leadership in order to 
get the emerging economies to commit, he 
insisted, noting that Brazilian officials have 
privately admitted they will need to make 
commitments, but will wait to do so until the end 
of the process. 
 
--------------------- 
CLEAN TECHNOLOGY FUND 
--------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Asked for the German view on the U.S. 
proposal to establish a Clean Technology Fund 
(CTF), Sach said he had heard that the April 12 
discussions between Treasury U/S McCormick and 
German Development Minister Wieczorek-Zeul had 
been productive.  Sach said Germany had initially 
been concerned that recipient countries take 
"ownership" in the Fund's governance in order to 
avoid the appearance of conditionality. 
Discussions are moving in the right direction, 
Sach said, adding "there are no issues here that 
cannot be overcome."  Sach said Germany would 
also like to see greater focus on supporting 
adaptation funds already built into the UNFCCC. 
Sach stressed that Germany does not oppose the 
CTF and generally supports U.S. technology-based 
initiatives.  Sach requested additional 
information to address perceived discrepancies 
between President Bush's publicly announced 
pledge for CTF of 2 billion USD and Congressional 
allocations of only 100 million USD to date. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
GERMANY COMMITTED TO 40 PERCENT EMISSIONS 
REDUCTION TARGET 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Turning to domestic developments, Sach 
said the Environment Ministry's decision to 
abandon a planned increase in the unlabeled 
blending mandate for bioethanol in gasoline from 
five to ten percent (ref A) would not diminish 
Germany's commitment to reduce its GHG emissions 
by 40 percent over the 1990 base by 2020.  The 
share of renewables in fuel production will 
increase from 6 to 14 percent instead of from 6 
to 17 percent as previously planned. The three 
percent difference will be made up for by 
increasing the number of fixed power 
installations (combined heating and power 
stations).  Sach noted a large portion of the 
projected GHG emissions reductions would come 
from increased energy efficiency.  "The 
perception is much bigger than the actual burden" 
that will be imposed by Germany's ambitious 
 
BERLIN 00000475  003 OF 003 
 
 
reduction goals, he insisted. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Sach insisted that German price 
guarantees for solar energy are not technically 
subsidies, because the German government does not 
provide direct funding to users or providers. 
Instead, the government guarantees prices for 
solar-produced electricity that are higher than 
electricity from other sources.  Sach disagreed 
that price guarantees are a type of indirect 
subsidy but, when pressed, quickly changed tack 
by arguing that German energy consumers hold 
themselves to a "higher standard" and are willing 
to pay more to fight climate change.  Sach 
indicated that Germany would pursue similar 
initiatives to promote the development of clean 
coal technology -- the German Government will not 
fund the construction of physical plants, but 
will fund research on storage and safety and the 
development of an implementing framework. 
Ultimately, Sach said, Germany prefers the 
"polluter pays" principle, which avoids market- 
distorting incentives. 
 
TIMKEN JR.