VZCZCXRO5127
RR RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHPB RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHBR #0015/01 0211931
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 211930Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0334
INFO ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000015 
 
SIPDIS 
AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE 
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO AMCONSUL ALMATY 
AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PASS TO AMEMBASSY MALABO 
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/21 
TAGS: SENV ENRG KGHG BR
SUBJECT: CLIMATE CHANGE NEXT STEPS: BRAZIL WILL INSCRIBE ITS 
MITIGATION ACTIONS BY JANUARY 31 
 
REF: STATE 3352 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Lisa Kubiske, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., U.S. Department 
of State, Embassy Basilia; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY.  The Government of Brazil (GOB) will inscribe the 
mitigation actions it previously announced under the Copenhagen 
Accord by January 31, 2010, according to both Ministry of External 
Relations' Under Secretary for Policy Vera Machado and Vice 
Minister of the Environment Izabella Teixeira.  Brazil brought to 
the Conference of the Parties-15 (COP-15) to the UN Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen its voluntary 
national goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 36.1 percent 
to 38.9 percent by 2020 compared with "business as usual". 
Subsequently, on December 29, 2009, Brazil enacted legislation 
codifying this voluntary national goal.  Further, Environment 
Minister Carlos Minc will lead the Brazilian delegation to the 
upcoming meeting in New Delhi of the BASIC group (Brazil, South 
Africa, India and China).  Machado and Teixeira were vague about 
what they expected to happen there, except to say the BASIC group 
would discuss next steps after COP-15.  Both Machado and Teixeira 
expressed uncertainty about what China would do about the 
Copenhagen Accord.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (C) Per reftel, Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Lisa Kubiske met on 
January 20 with the Ministry of External Relations' (MRE) Under 
Secretary for Policy Vera Machado and subsequently with Vice 
Minister of the Environment Izabella Teixeira to encourage the 
Government of Brazil (GOB) to inscribe its mitigation actions under 
the Copenhagen Accord by January 31.  Machado said that there would 
be "no problem, no delay" with the GOB inscribing its previously 
announced voluntary national goal for reducing greenhouse gas 
emissions.  She explained that the MRE was concluding the 
interministerial procedures necessary for the GOB to inscribe its 
goal. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (C) While the GOB will inscribe its voluntary national goal, it 
is not giving the Copenhagen Accord a full embrace.  Machado said, 
"We are not signing up, we are informing what our national 
commitments are."  Fernando Lyrio, who is the Environment 
Ministry's International Advisor and who accompanied Teixeira in 
the meeting, said that there was no mandate out of COP-15.  He 
added that the Copenhagen Accord is an informal one. 
 
 
 
WHAT BRAZIL WILL INSCRIBE 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) The GOB plans to inscribe its voluntary national goal for 
reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 36.1 percent to 38.9 percent 
by 2020 compared with "business as usual" (BAU) emissions.  Dilma 
Rousseff, the head of the Presidency (Casa Civil), had announced 
this voluntary national goal on December 15 in Copenhagen.  She 
identified the nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) 
that Brazil intended to take to achieve this goal: 
 
 
 
NAMAs 2020 PROJECTED REDUCTIONS vs. BAU 
 
(in millions of tons of CO2 equivalents) 
 
 
 
Reducing Deforestation Rate     669(24.7%)  1,084 
 
-Amazon Biome by 80%           (564) 
 
-Cerrado Biome by 40%          (104) 
 
 
 
Agriculture Practices   133 to 166(4.9-6.1%)  627 
 
-Recuperation of Pastures     (83 to 104) 
 
BRASILIA 00000015  002 OF 003 
 
 
-Integrated Farming-Ranching  (18 to 22) 
 
-Direct "No Till" Planting    (16 to 20) 
 
-Biological Nitrogen Fixing   (16 to 20) 
 
 
 
Energy Measures         166 to 207(6.1-7.7%)  901 
 
-Energy Efficiency            (12 to 15) 
 
-Increased Biofuels Use       (48 to 60) 
 
-More Hydroelectric Power     (79 to 99) 
 
-Alternative Sources of Energy 
 
(Bioelectricity, Wind, etc.)  (26 to 33) 
 
 
 
Other Measures              8 to 10(0.3-0.4%)  92 
 
-Use of Sustainable Charcoal 
 
in Pig Iron/Steel Sector      (8 to 10) 
 
 
 
TOTAL             975 to 1,052(36.1-38.9%)  2,703 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) On December 29, 2009, President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva 
signed Law 12.187/2009 that converted the National Climate Change 
Policy into law.  Importantly, Article 12 of that law incorporated 
the voluntary national goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 
through mitigation actions by 36.1 percent to 38.9 percent by 2020 
compared with "business as usual" emissions.  Teixeira said that 
the GOB was working out the details for implementing these NAMAs. 
In particular, the GOB was developing its first ever plan to combat 
deforestation in the savannah region (Cerrado), which constitutes 
the second biggest NAMA after reducing Amazon deforestation.  These 
details should be unveiled in March as part of the newest version 
of the National Climate Change Plan. 
 
 
 
INFLUENCING OTHERS TO ASSOCIATE AND INSCRIBE 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C) The Charge encouraged the GOB to urge other countries to 
associate with the Copenhagen Accord and, with respect to the other 
members of the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) group, 
to inscribe their mitigation actions.  She pointed out that 
countries, such as Guatemala, might be amenable to leadership by 
Brazil.  Machado offered a tepid, non-committal response.  As for 
Brazil being able to influence China within the BASIC group, 
Machado laughed at the idea. 
 
 
 
UPCOMING BASIC MEETING 
 
 
 
¶7.  (C) Both Machado and Teixeira were vague about what they 
expected out of the January 24 meeting of the BASIC group in New 
Delhi.  They both reflected great pride on the central role the 
BASIC group played at COP-15.  They saw the upcoming meeting as an 
opportunity for BASIC to set the path for where the climate change 
negotiations will go this year.  Machado and Teixeira were 
uncertain about what China will do now. 
 
 
 
¶8. (C) Environment Minister Carlos Minc will lead the Brazilian 
 
BRASILIA 00000015  003 OF 003 
 
 
delegation to the New Delhi meeting of the BASIC group, and MRE's 
Director of the Environment Department, Amb. Luis Figueiredo 
Machado, will accompany him.  (COMMENT.  Having Minc lead the 
Brazilian delegation is probably a good development.  He has been 
the most vocal member of Brazil's climate change team for large 
emerging countries to take more active measures to address climate 
change.  He is more likely to push back if other BASIC countries 
seek to step backwards from what they committed to do in 
Copenhagen.  END COMMENT.) 
 
 
 
KUBISKE 
KUBISKE