VZCZCXRO3847
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK
RUEHYG
DE RUEHVI #0739 1701025
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191025Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2772
INFO RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS VIENNA 000739 
 
SIPDIS, SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EEB/ESC MONOSSON, OES/EGC THOMPSON, IO/EDA WEBBER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG KGHG SENV AU
SUBJECT: Austria Still Pitching Vienna For IRENA Headquarters 
 
REF: A) State 59971, b) Froats-Monosson emails 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Austrian MFA reps continue to pitch Vienna as 
headquarters for the nascent International Renewable Energy Agency 
(IRENA), but acknowledge that the UAE has cleverly played the 
"South" card in promoting itself.  Austrians argue Vienna offers 
synergies and that a UAE headquarters would be isolated and stifling 
for expatriate staff.  We made clear that the USG plans to support 
Abu Dhabi, even though our participation is still under discussion 
with Congress.  End summary 
 
¶2. (SBU) At a meeting June 18, Post raised reftel points with MFA 
reps Christian Krepela (head of the Department for Environment and 
Energy) and with Ernst-Peter Brzezovsky (head of the Department for 
International Conferences and Organizations) of the Ministry of 
European and International Affairs, which has the lead on IRENA 
issues.  (NOTE: per ref B, Post had already told the GoA informally 
that the USG could not support its headquarter candidacy - END 
NOTE). 
 
¶3. (SBU) The GoA continue to pitch us and other governments 
in its campaign to host IRENA's headquarters.  The campaign has two 
principal arguments.  The first is networking/synergy, namely 
Vienna's strong existing "energy cluster" of international 
organizations.  Vienna already hosts international organizations 
with energy focus including OPEC, OFIC (OPEC's Development Fund), 
the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), the 
Energy Community (focusing on southeast Europe), and the 
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis/IIASA (whose 
researchers model climate change and other relevant issues). The MFA 
argues that Vienna would give IRENA key "synergies" not available in 
Bonn, much less in the UAE. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The second GoA argument is Vienna's long experience hosting 
international organizations and conferences.  Office space for the 
expected large number of IRENA employees would be available "from 
day one" (versus the UAE facility, which has not broken ground). 
The region already has a qualified workforce on energy and 
administrative issues.  With many embassies from the developing 
world, Vienna would offer many more countries the chance for 
representation than Bonn or Abu Dhabi. 
 
¶5. (SBU) GoA interlocutors expressed understanding for why the USG 
supports UAE, but raise potential objections to Abu Dhabi (much more 
than Bonn).  Speaking candidly, GoA reps implied that the UAE does 
not have the experience of an existing UN city, is quite isolated 
from leading experts and practitioners of renewable energy (most of 
whom are in Europe), and might not offer world-class professional 
and personal opportunities for expatriates (in particular women). 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Austrians see the Director-General/DG issue as closely 
intertwined with the selection of the headquarters -- i.e. in 
practice a DG would come from a developed country if the HQ goes to 
a developing country (or vice versa).  They spoke favorably of the 
Nigerian candidate -- but stopped short of endorsing him/her -- 
pointing out that the headquarters is permanent (where the DG serves 
just for four years), so member states should be careful not to 
choose the headquarters for transient political reasons. 
 
¶7. (U) The Austrian delegation to the Sharm El Sheik meeting will be 
headed by MFA Secretary-General (deputy to Minister) Johannes Kyrle, 
highlighting the importance that Austria  attaches to its HQ 
candidacy. 
 
ORDWAY