VZCZCXRO6375
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHC #9282/01 3122341
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 072335Z NOV 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 119282 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KGHG SENV ENRG
SUBJECT: SUBJECT: CLIMATE CHANGE: U.S. ENGAGEMENT IN 
DECEMBER NEGOTIATIONS 
 
REF: STATE 112885 (NOTAL) 
 
 ¶1. This is an action request.  Please see paragraph 10. 
 
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OBJECTIVES 
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¶2. Department asks EUR posts to work to ensure host country 
officials and opinion leaders understand that the United 
States is committed to advancing international climate 
negotiations at the UN conference in Poland December 1-12. We 
want to convey that we remain serious in our pursuit of an 
effective new global approach to climate change, and that 
with the change of administration we expect a smooth 
transition of our efforts in the climate negotiations. 
 
¶3. Among our goals is to ensure negotiating space for the 
United States as the new administration develops its 
positions on climate change. This could include complex and 
potentially lengthy processes involving the Congress on what 
measures the United States may take at home to further reduce 
emissions of greenhouse gases. 
 
¶4. As we look ahead to the targeted conclusion of 
international climate negotiations in December 2009 in 
Copenhagen, we want to ensure that this December,s UN 
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in 
Poznan sets a solid foundation by producing a deeper 
understanding of Parties, priorities and expectations. We 
also want to ensure that Poznan does not result in partial or 
premature decisions, and that any outcomes are fully 
compatible with longstanding and bipartisan U.S. positions. 
 
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BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶5. Over the past year, the United States has been developing 
new and enhanced positions on the range of issues under 
negotiation. We believe that these together form a 
negotiating stance that is ambitious and practical, and 
representative of bipartisan U.S. views. 
 
¶6. For more than a decade, the Congress and successive U.S. 
administrations have emphasized the same two principles for 
U.S. engagement in international efforts to address climate 
change. In essence, there exists a national position that 
U.S. participation in any climate agreements is contingent on 
ensuring the participation of other major economies 
(including major emerging economies), and on avoiding undue 
disruption to the U.S. economy. This degree of consensus on 
the U.S. international stance contrasts with the more 
divergent views on how the United States should go about 
reducing its own emissions. 
 
¶7. Expectations are high for a new climate agreement-- in 
some cases unrealistically high. At the recent UNFCCC talks 
in Warsaw (reftel) China and some G-77 representatives 
continued to suggest they should receive hundreds of billions 
of dollars in new financial aid, without any apparent 
commitments on their part to reduce their emissions. 
Moreover, some countries continue to call for the United 
States to commit to greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 
25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 -- a level far deeper than 
those proposed by Members of Congress of either party or by 
President-elect Obama as a candidate. 
¶8. Action officers interested in a non-governmental 
perspective on U.S. participation in a future climate regime 
are encouraged to review an article published by the Heinrich 
Boll foundation, &The U.S. Elections and Prospects for a New 
Climate Agreement8 available at : 
http://www.boell.de/climate-transatlantic/ind ex-117.html . 
The author suggests that unrealistic expectations over U.S. 
positions could weaken prospects for an environmentally 
effective international agreement. 
¶9. Action officers are welcome to contact OES/EGC Ed Fendley 
or EUR/PGI David Tessler with any questions or comments on 
these issues. 
 
------------------------ 
GUIDANCE POINTS 
------------------------- 
 
¶10. Posts are encouraged to draw from the points below as 
they engage host government, NGO, and other local contacts to 
discuss the upcoming UNFCCC conference in Poznan and explain 
 
STATE 00119282  002 OF 003 
 
 
USG position. 
 
--We remain fully committed to negotiating a post-2012 
climate regime that is environmentally effective and 
economically sustainable. 
 
--With the change of administration, we fully expect a smooth 
transition of our efforts in the climate negotiations. 
 
--At the December climate conference in Poznan and in 
subsequent meetings, we will work constructively to ensure 
that all of the primary elements of the Bali Action Plan ) a 
shared vision, mitigation, adaptation, technology, and 
finance ) can come together to form a package approach for 
consideration in Copenhagen in 2009. 
 
--The work plan and timeline we have developed for 
implementing the Bali Action Plan gives us time to consider 
these issues. We consider Poznan to be an important milestone 
toward Copenhagen, and that it affords an important 
opportunity to share views, take stock and clarify points of 
agreement and difference. 
 
--As is the case with all important international endeavors, 
our decision to participate in a new climate regime will 
involve the U.S. executive branch and the Congress, and we 
expect extensive consultations on these issues to continue 
over the coming year. 
 
--We expect that the United States and all countries that are 
contributing to climate change will take actions to mitigate 
their emissions, and that they will report to the 
international community on their actions in a measurable and 
verifiable manner. 
 
--So that our efforts can be durable and earn support in each 
of our countries, we expect that the approach we take will 
help, not hinder, our economies. 
 
--There is a longstanding bipartisan consensus in the United 
States on the need for developing country participation and 
avoiding undue economic harm. 
 
--We noted with interest the EU Environment Council,s recent 
suggestion of the need for developing countries, as well as 
the United States and other developed countries, to 
significantly reduce emissions. 
 
--We hope you agree that it is very important that the 
negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate 
Change proceed in a way that facilitates U.S. participation. 
 
--We invite you to consider our views on the range of issues 
under negotiation. 
 
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Supplementary GUIDANCE Points on U.S. VIEWS 
--- ---- 
 
¶11. In addition to the points that follow, action officers my 
wish to review U.S. submissions to the UNFCCC Ad Hoc Working 
Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention, 
available at: http://unfccc.int/meetings/items/4381.php 
 
Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 
 
--We believe that there needs to be an emphasis on common 
aspects of the outcome, not just aspects that are 
differentiated among countries. Unchecked emissions growth 
from developing countries means we will fail to address 
climate change. 
 
---All countries should take on nationally appropriate 
mitigation actions. 
 
---All actions should be quantified and reported, and the 
progress of each Party should be verified over time. 
 
---All Parties, actions should have the same international 
legal character, for example, legally binding, politically 
binding or voluntary.  That is, the U.S. would accept 
internationally binding commitments only if China and other 
key countries would also accept them. 
 
Financing and Technology: 
 
--We are working to enhance our partnerships with countries 
around the world to increase trade and investment in clean 
energy technologies, including through the Asia-Pacific 
Partnership, the Global Environment Facility, and the World 
Bank Clean Technology Fund (CTF). 
 
 
STATE 00119282  003 OF 003 
 
 
--We believe that any new or enhanced financing tools must 
recognize and build on the financial capacity of the 
recipient country. Major emerging economies have a level of 
financial and technical capacity far greater than two decades 
ago. 
 
--It is important to carefully consider what national 
governments can be reasonably expected to do through their 
own policies and resources, consistent with their obligations 
under the Convention. 
 
--We are also mindful of what will be politically palatable 
in the U.S. domestic context. We ask whether any of the 
finance-related proposals coming forward are likely to be met 
with support from the U.S. Congress and members of the public. 
 
Adaptation 
 
--Adaptation to changing climate occurs at national, 
regional, and local levels and is an inherent part of 
development planning. We believe that discussions over the 
next two years can do much to orient actions toward greater 
attention to adaptation, and to generate resources for 
populations that are most vulnerable to the impacts of 
climate change. 
 
--Adaptation is directly linked to development.  Success or 
failure in adaptation will be determined primarily by the 
actions of the country itself.  No amount of aid will be as 
important as whether governments choose sensible development 
paths that increase resiliency to any number of risks.  And 
private sector support and financing will be a critical 
component. 
 
--The UNFCCC can act as a catalyst to mobilize private sector 
funding and investment and to build capacity in developing 
countries to better take advantage of such financing. 
Critical components are sound investment enabling 
environments and development policies. 
RICE