VZCZCXRO3936
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHBS #1551 3241135
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201135Z NOV 09
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNMUC/EU CANDIDATE STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 001551 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIND ENRG EUN KGHG SENV TRGY
SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY - EU COUNCIL FAILS TO AGREE ON 
CLIMATE FINANCING 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is an initial spot report of the climate 
outcomes of the EU Council.  USEU will provide further detail 
next week after conversations with EU officials. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary.  Despite efforts from the Swedish 
Presidency and the European Commission, EU Heads of State and 
Government failed to agree on either of the two main climate 
financing issues: 
 
     - How to internally share the financial burden among the 
Member States; and 
 
     - The level of financing the EU plans to bring to the 
table in Copenhagen. 
 
The EU will set up a Working Party to address financial 
burden sharing and plans to complete work in advance of 
Copenhagen.  The outcome is being hailed as a success by 
Poland, and both the Commission and the Swedish Presidency 
are promoting it as a success as well, focusing instead on 
the agreement that 100 billion euros per year will be needed 
in 2020 to address global climate change.  End summary. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The European Council, meeting in Brussels on October 
29-30, was unable to resolve the key issues facing it with 
regard to climate financing.  The Swedish Presidency was 
hoping to clarify how Member States would divide the 
financial commitment the EU will bring to the Copenhagen 
climate negotiations (known as "burden sharing").  However, 
Poland and Hungary, supported by the other new Member States, 
argued that ability to pay, as opposed to greenhouse gas 
(GHG) emissions (known as the "polluter pays" principle), 
should take precedence in determining a Member State's 
contribution.  Additionally, Member State officials indicated 
to USEU EconOff that Germany also opposed the various 
proposals on the table, so ultimately, no agreement was 
formed.  Instead, the EU will form a Working Party to work 
out the details of the internal adjustment mechanism.  To 
ensure that all Member States are in agreement, the European 
Council must approve by consensus the Working Party's 
proposals. 
 
¶4. (SBU) With the burden sharing discussion unresolved, it 
prevented the Swedish Presidency and the Commission from 
securing concrete figures for the EU's financial contribution 
to be brought to Copenhagen.  The Council did support the 
Commission's proposal that it will cost around 100 billion 
euros per year by 2020 to address global mitigation and 
adaptation, and that between 22 and 50 billion euros will 
need to come from international public financing.  However, 
despite proposals from the Commission that recommended that 
the EU commit to ten billion euros of that figure, the 
Council was unable to come to agreement.  Instead, the 
Council stated that the EU will contribute its "fair share." 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Council was however, successful in securing 
agreement on key aspects of mitigation targets.  It calls on 
all UN parties to agree to limit global temperature increase 
to two degrees C through developed country emission 
reductions of 80-95% and global emission reductions of 50% 
from 1990 levels by 2050.  It also supported a long-term EU 
target of 80-95% reductions by 2050, and reiterated its 
commitment to move to 30  emission reductions by 2020 with 
comparable commitments from other countries. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment.  The outcome of the EU Council is close to 
what was expected given the strong positions held by several 
parties, particularly the Eastern Member States.  The Swedish 
P disappointed with the  a positive spin publicly.tes 
  , and USEU agrees, as a lack of agreement before 
Copenhagen would sinify a monumental political failure by 
the EU, which holds itself as the global leader on climte 
change.  End comment. 
 
MURRAY 
 
.