VZCZCXRO6933
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGZ #0630/01 3170912
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130912Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1092
INFO RUEHGZ/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE 0337
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0871
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0271
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0272
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0281
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 0022
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC 0036
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0200
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0320
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC 0316
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000630 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/PA, AND EAP/PD 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, OES, AND EB 
STATE PASS EPA 
BEIJING FOR ESTH AND ENERGY REPS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV PGOV PREL ECPS CH
SUBJECT: CLIMATE CHANGE - GUANGZHOU STILL NOT FEELING THE HEAT 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  A trio of obstacles -- public indifference, media 
apathy and government double-speak -- seem to be making it more 
difficult for climate change issues to gain traction in this south 
China megacity.  According to local newspaper reporters, Guangzhou 
residents are largely unaware of and uninterested in the underlying 
causes or potentially disastrous impacts of climate change.  Media 
coverage is limited to publicizing the results of highly technical 
scientific reports, rebroadcasting generic official statements 
calling for greater action on climate change, or dissemination of 
government propaganda that blames developed countries for the 
climate change problem.  Cooperation between U.S. and Chinese 
environment and meteorology experts on joint research projects and 
local forums and workshops provide good opportunities for climate 
change reporting, according to journalists.  Joint training programs 
and information exchange could also strengthen capacity for climate 
change reporting and understanding in both countries.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------- -------------------- 
TEMPERATURES RISING BUT LEVEL OF CONCERN STILL LOW 
----------------------------- -------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Reporters from three local newspapers agreed at a recent 
meeting with ESTHoff that overall public awareness in Guangzhou 
regarding climate change is low.  While many residents are vaguely 
aware that global temperatures are rising, few understand or are 
concerned about the underlying causes or projected impacts of 
climate change, according to Zhao Anran (protect) of the Information 
Times.  Even when residents are exposed to reports describing 
climate change disaster scenarios, few link these reports to their 
daily lives or feel pressure to change lifestyle habits.  A reporter 
from Guangzhou Daily added that most residents are primarily 
concerned with issues that have immediate relevance to their 
individual economic situation and are relatively uninterested in 
broader less direct long-term "public interest" issues like climate 
change. 
 
--------------------- -------------------------------- 
MEDIA UNDERSTAND ROLE BUT COVERAGE IS LINKED TO DEMAND 
--------------------- -------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The bulk of local media coverage of climate change issues 
can be divided into two categories, according to Zhu Yong of 
Southern Metropolis Daily.  One is the effort to make public the 
results of highly technical scientific reports on different aspects 
of climate change, which due to their technical nature are 
inaccessible for the average reader.  The second category of 
coverage consists of broadcasting "soft calls" made by government 
officials to encourage greater action on climate change, appeals 
which one reporter characterized as "empty words that bore the 
public."  (Comment: A third category not mentioned by the 
journalists consists of government propaganda aimed at evading 
responsibility for reducing carbon emissions and assigning blame for 
climate change almost exclusively to the U.S. and other developed 
countries. End Comment.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Convincing the media of their critical role in increasing 
climate change awareness is not the challenge, according to a 
reporter from the Guangzhou Daily.  The real difficulty is 
overcoming low levels of public interest in seemingly remote climate 
change issues like melting glaciers and polar ice caps.  Zhao added 
that most residents are primarily concerned with economic conditions 
or social welfare issues that affect them on a daily basis, which 
translates into high demand for media coverage on these topics.  So 
long as readers remain primarily interested in economic and social 
issues with immediate relevance, climate change issues will receive 
relatively little attention, the reporters said. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In light of these obstacles, all three journalists 
highlighted the need for creativity in making climate change issues 
interesting to the average reader.  As an example, one reporter 
pointed to an article recently printed on the front page of the 
Guangzhou Daily that tells the story of an underwater meeting held 
by the Maldives' president and cabinet to push for a stronger 
climate change agreement in Copenhagen.  This type of story, 
according to the reporter, catches the public interest and at the 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000630  002 OF 002 
 
 
same time gets out an important message about the urgency of the 
climate change issue.  The reporter added that Hollywood should make 
more movies like "The Day After Tomorrow" to draw the public's 
attention to the potential catastrophic consequences of inaction on 
climate change.  (Comment: Although the reporters claimed to be 
cognizant of the media's role in raising public awareness, quips 
about Hollywood movies and comments about the irrelevance of climate 
change issues suggests the reporters did not see it as their 
responsibility to increase the public's understanding of the urgency 
of the climate change issue.  End Comment.) 
 
-------------------------------- ------------------------- 
COOPERATION, JOINT RESEARCH GOOD MATERIAL FOR NEWS STORIES 
-------------------------------- ------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) "Media report the news and any reporting done on climate 
change needs to be linked to a news item."  This line was repeated 
several times by journalists at the meeting.  When asked what would 
qualify as climate change "news," Zhu of Southern Metropolis said 
that cooperation between U.S. and Chinese environment or meteorology 
experts on a joint research project would be one example of a 
newsworthy item.  A locally-hosted forum on a given climate change 
topic would also provide journalists with the opportunity to report 
on climate change issues, according to Zhu. 
 
--------------------------------- ------------------- 
TRAINING AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE WOULD BE BENEFICIAL 
--------------------------------- ------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Low demand for climate change reporting translates into a 
lack of specialized knowledge on climate change topics for many 
local reporters.  Journalists in Guangzhou acknowledged that joint 
training workshops and information exchanges with foreign media 
would help them improve their climate change reporting skills.  One 
of the reporters added that a recent workshop on the links between 
climate change and public health, hosted for the media as part of 
the Climate Cool program at the British Council, had been 
particularly useful.  (Note: In a recent meeting with June Zhong, 
Program Manager for Climate Cool, Zhong said that the program 
sponsored media forums on climate change topics on a quarterly 
basis.  Recent forums covered topics such as low carbon development, 
climate change and international negotiation, and sustainable 
energy.  End Note.) 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  According to the Paris Declaration on Broadcast 
Media and Climate Change, public awareness of the need for urgent 
action on climate change is the lynchpin of international efforts to 
mitigate its negative impacts, and the media plays a critical role 
in raising overall awareness and stimulating policy debate on 
options for mitigation and adaptation.  Increased collaboration 
between U.S. and Chinese media professionals -- e.g., joint training 
on the technical aspects of climate change or exchanging best 
practices for making climate change issues relevant to people with 
different education levels and cultural backgrounds -- would 
increase capacity for quality climate change reporting on both 
sides.  At the same time, U.S. efforts to foster greater cooperation 
between media professionals in both countries would tangibly 
demonstrate our commitment to working together with China to combat 
climate change by tackling the challenge of public awareness while 
also promoting greater understanding and, ideally, acceptance of 
U.S. policies.  End Comment. 
 
GOLDBECK