VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGP #1234/01 3570455
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 230455Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7574

UNCLAS SINGAPORE 001234 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SENV KGHG SN
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE LAMENTS COPENHAGEN "TRENCH FIGHTING" BUT 
HOPES FOR BINDING TREATY 
 
REF: SINGAPORE 1150 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  As the United Nations Conference on Climate 
Change wound down in Copenhagen, Singapore Prime Minister Lee 
Hsien Loong criticized the event's "sound and fury" and 
"trench fighting" in remarks to Singaporean journalists. 
Participants did not adopt the right frame of mind, he said. 
Nevertheless, Singapore expressed its support for the 
resulting political accord, if only as a useful basis from 
which to negotiate a binding agreement.  PM Lee reaffirmed 
Singapore's recently-announced emissions growth targets 
(reported reftel) but conditioned them on attainment of a 
binding international agreement.  Singapore's mainstream 
media initially called the conference a failure, but a 
post-conference editorial in the government-linked Straits 
Times adopted a more positive tone, acknowledging American 
leadership as key to securing the climate change accord.  End 
Summary. 
 
Disappointed in Denmark but Hopes for Treaty Next Year 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Speaking to Singapore journalists in Copenhagen on 
December 19, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was 
"disappointed with the outcome" of the United Nations 
Conference on Climate Change but hoped that the work done so 
far would lead to a binding treaty within a year.  PM Lee 
said participating countries should have begun contemplating 
the elements of a political statement on climate change in 
November, when Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen 
told other heads of state at a meeting in Singapore that a 
legally binding treaty would be unachievable at Copenhagen. 
"But over the last two months, there has been a lot of sound 
and fury, a lot of trench fighting over procedures," PM Lee 
said.  Conference delegates locked into the resulting 
"close-quarter combat" lacked the right frame of mind to take 
a realistic view of politically feasible measures to combat 
climate change, he lamented. 
 
¶3.  (U) Despite PM Lee's disappointment, Singapore expressed 
its support for Copenhagen's outcome at the closing plenary 
session.  The Singapore delegation commended the "sentiment, 
commitment, and good faith" of the countries that negotiated 
the political accord and noted that those countries "crossed 
all sections and interest groups" and "represented all of 
us."  At the same time, Singapore declared its solidarity 
with the Association of Small Island States and called on the 
world to treat the Copenhagen accord as a basis for moving 
toward a binding agreement.  PM Lee later reinforced this 
point, telling the press, "We are a small island nation too 
... small, vulnerable, and alternative-energy disadvantaged. 
If there is no deal, we are in jeopardy." 
 
Reaffirms Emission Goals - But Only If There's a Treaty 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In Singapore's national statement to the plenary 
session in Copenhagen, PM Lee reaffirmed Singapore's existing 
pledge to reduce its emissions growth by 16 percent from the 
"business as usual" level by 2020.  (Comment:  "Business as 
usual" appears to mean the hypothetical emissions level that 
results from extrapolating current trends to 2020.  Holding 
emissions growth below the "business as usual" trend rate 
does not imply a reduction in actual emissions.  End 
Comment.)  PM Lee's subsequent remarks to the press made it 
clear that even this modest pledge depends on the world's 
ability to achieve a binding treaty:  "If there is a deal, we 
are committed to do our part. ... It is conditional on the 
agreement being reached and other countries also doing their 
part too."  The PM noted that Singapore's Sustainable 
Development Blueprint already calls for a seven to 11 percent 
cut in emissions growth, but that in order to reach 16 
percent, Singapore will have to evaluate new policies; these 
could include increasing domestic energy efficiency standards 
and adopting new fiscal incentives, such as a cap-and-trade 
mechanism or a carbon tax. 
 
¶5.  (U) Singapore's plenary session statement called on 
developed countries to take the lead in substantially 
reducing emissions and helping developing countries curb 
emissions without compromising economic growth.  It also 
called for developing nations to reduce emissions in a manner 
consistent with their respective capabilities.  PM Lee told 
delegates that Singapore reduced its carbon intensity by 30 
percent between 1990 and 2006 by increasing its green cover, 
limiting the number of cars in use, and generating 
electricity from natural gas. 
 
Singapore Press Ridicules, Then Endorses Copenhagen Outcome 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
¶6.  (U) Singapore media lampooned the Copenhagen conference 
as a failure before ultimately shifting tone to endorse its 
outcome.  The Sunday Times for December 20 ran a sardonic 
primer for those who "missed the entire Copenhagen summit," 
including this summary:  "Whose fault was it that the meeting 
failed?  Almost everyone's, if you go by the angry rhetoric. 
The US: Did not want to cut emissions more.  China:  Refused 
to allow outside checks.  The European Union and other rich 
nations:  Did not offer enough funding.  Developing nations: 
Did not want to commit to legally binding cuts.  Small island 
states:  Wasted time arguing over procedures and walking out 
of talks halfway."  Headlines that day included "Deal a 
Letdown After High Hopes" and the mocking "Copenhagen. 
Hopenhagen. Nopenhagen."  Chua Chin Hon, the Straits Times 
U.S. bureau chief, wrote that opinion was divided as to 
whether President Obama was "the savior who brokered an 
eleventh-hour deal" or "a complete flop who failed to provide 
decisive leadership."  Chua expressed the view that the 
failure to secure a binding agreement suited President 
Obama's interests because it gave him "another year of 
breathing space" to build domestic support for climate-change 
legislation in a difficult political and economic environment. 
 
¶7.  (U) By December 22, the editorial page of the Straits 
Times gave the Copenhagen accord a qualified endorsement, 
echoing PM Lee's position and acknowledging American 
leadership as a key factor in moving the discussions forward: 
 "This accord has rightly been criticized for lacking 
specifics on how to limit Earth's temperature rise to two 
degrees Celsius by mid-century.  But it is more constructive 
to take an encouraging view of the leadership shown by the 
United States on the one hand, and by the emerging bloc made 
up of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa on the other, to 
devise an agreement no matter how vague."  The editorial 
called for short-term diplomatic efforts to focus on inducing 
compliance with the accord's request for member nations to 
state definite 2020 emission targets by January 31.  Also on 
December 22, perhaps in an effort to balance positive 
commentary on U.S. efforts, Straits Times China bureau chief 
Peh Shing Huei took issue with critics who have blamed China 
for Copenhagen's limited achievement.  At the same time, Peh 
called on China to "leap to the front line in the fight 
against global warming" even if such leadership entails some 
sacrifice. 
 
SHIELDS 
 
Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm