VZCZCXRO6174
OO RUEHIK
DE RUEHSM #0800 3620616
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280616Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5022
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING IMMEDIATE 1084
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000800 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV KGHG PREL PGOV ENRG SW
SUBJECT:  Post Gets Clarification of Sweden's Post COP-15 Public 
Statements:  Real Problem is China 
 
REF:  STOCKHOLM 791 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Charge called Prime Minister Reinfeldt's climate 
change advisor Lars Erik Liljelund to discuss recent public 
criticism of the United States by Sweden's Environment Minister 
Andreas Carlgren.  Liljelund agreed it was wrong to criticize U.S. 
efforts at Copenhagen, noting that the need was for a strategy to 
bring China into serious discussions. He said China had been 
"powerful" at COP-15, as well as very "frank and direct that it was 
not interested in any type of climate change commitment."  Liljelund 
told Charge he would follow up with Carlgren in the New Year, as he 
had done in August. End Summary 
 
Sweden's Environment Minister Criticizes the U.S. 
----- ----- ---- ----- ---- ----- ----- ----- -- 
 
¶2. (U) Per reftel, the Swedish media was generally positive toward 
President Obama's efforts at COP-15, although the U.S. was 
criticized for not having any new mitigation targets to put on the 
table.  The Swedish media reserved much of their criticism for the 
EU, which they said was left on the sidelines as the U.S. and China 
took over the negotiations. 
 
¶3.  (U) Sweden's Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren responded to 
such criticism during the last significant event of Sweden's six 
month EU Presidency, the December 22 meeting of EU Environment 
Ministers held in Brussels.  After chairing the meeting, he told a 
press conference that the EU ministers placed a lot of the blame for 
the failure on the inability of the world's two biggest emitters, 
the United States and China, to agree at the climate summit. He said 
COP-15 was a "great failure" and "It was obvious that the United 
States and China didn't want more than we achieved at Copenhagen. 
As he arrived for the Brussels meeting, Carlgren had told the press 
that the COP-15 outcome "was mostly for the big ones, for the US and 
for China and their followers" agreeing on "the lowest common 
denominator." 
 
¶4.  (U) While Carlgren did criticize China as well as the United 
States, he repeated his near-constant mantra on the need to pressure 
the U.S. to do more on climate change.  At the post-Ministerial 
press conference, Carlgren said the pressure is now on the United 
States, and "We should be able to expect them to deliver something 
concrete later this spring."  Carlgren was joined in criticizing the 
U.S. by Spain's Environment Minister Teresa Ribera who was quoted in 
the Swedish press as calling on President Obama "to live up to" his 
claim for a key role on climate by "presenting concrete numbers" 
adding that "we cannot give up, we must fight for what we sadly 
enough did not achieve in Copenhagen." 
 
¶5.  (U) While some EU member countries have suggested imposing a 
carbon tax on recalcitrant emitters, Carlgren told the press that 
"This is not the time for that.  We must strive for a global 
agreement and then we should avoid too much sable-rattling." 
 
Prime Minister's Climate Change Advisor Recommends a Strategy to Get 
China to Commit 
------ ----- ---- --------- ----- ----- ----- ------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On December 23, Charge called Prime Minister Frederik 
Reinfeldt's Senior Advisor on Climate Change 
Lars-Erik Liljelund to see whether Carlgren's criticism reflected 
the Swedish government view.  Liljelund had not seen Carlgren's 
remarks, but agreed that it was not right to criticize the United 
States.  He said he had been in meetings with the EU at COP-15 were 
China "showed how powerful it is."  As an example, he recounted how 
when German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked China's Vice Foreign 
Minister whether China could at least say China would reduce 
emissions, the Vice Foreign Minister's response was simply, "No." 
Liljelund also attended a meeting where he witnessed an "open 
dispute" between China and the G-77. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Liljelund said that the US and EU both have the same 
problem:  China was "really polite" during COP-15, but also "very 
frank and direct that they were not interested in any type of 
climate change commitment." Liljelund concluded that the US and EU 
need a "joint strategy to bring China in." 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Liljelund reminded the Charge that in August after 
Carlgren's public criticism of the United States following EU 
meetings in Washington, Liljelund had talked with Carlgren to reign 
him in.  He promised to follow up with Carlgren after the New Year. 
 
SILVERMAN