VZCZCXRO3077
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHMD #0309/01 0721828
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121828Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4476
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000309
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE PASS CEQ, TREASURY FOR DAS KEN PEEL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ENRG KGHG SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN - DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON US-EU CLIMATE CHANGE
COOPERATION
REF: SECSTATE 24257
1. Summary
------------
(SBU) EconCouns and ESTOff delivered reftel points to Teresa
Ribera, GOS Director General for Climate Change in the
Environment Ministry, in a March 11 meeting. DG Ribera does
not expect any surprises for the U.S. from the European
Council meeting this week. She said the objectives are to
reinforce the EU's unilateral emissions reduction commitment
and to consider reactions to the Eureopan's Commision's
January 23 emissions reduction proposal. Ribera described
the EU's commitment (and implicitly the commitment the EU
would want from the U.S.) as challenging and requiring an
enormous effort, but not unrealistic. She speculated that
the EU would ultimately want the US to reduce emissions below
1990 levels. Ribera also explained the European and Spanish
mindset in establishing ambitious emissions reductions goals.
She believed that reactions by some European business groups
to the Commission's proposals were simply a negotiating
position. Ribera, who discussed the Clean Technology Fund
with Treasury DAS Peel last month, expressed Spain's
"sympathy" with the idea but warned that developed countries
had reacted in a negative way.
2. No Surprises Expected from Council Meeting
--------------------------------------------- -
(U) Ribera does not expect any surprises for the US to come
out of the March 13-14 European Council meeting. She said
the objectives of the meeting are to:
-- Reinforce the EU's unilateral commitment on medium-term
emissions reductions
-- Consider reactions to the European Commission's January 23
emissions reduction proposal
3. EU's View of U.S. Emissions Target
--------------------------------------
(SBU) Looking further in the future, Ribera said the EU
definitely has not taken a position on the level of
commitment it would like to see from the U.S. She did
speculate, however, that ultimately the EU will want the U.S.
to do more than return to 1990 emissions levels by 2020.
While recognizing that the EU's unilateral commitment (and
implicitly what the EU would hope to see from the U.S.) will
be very challenging and will require an enormous effort,
Ribera said she did not believe the goal would be
unrealistic. When asked why the EU selected one of the most
extreme of the IPCC's 177 scenarios, she emphasized the
importance of setting extremely ambitious targets. Ribera
said if we do not establish ambitious goals for 2020, then it
will be that much harder to do what needs to be done by 2050.
She also said that due to all of the compromises that will
likely be made in the negotiating process, the world might
well fall short of whatever goal is set, and failure to
fufill a less than ambitious goal would have very negative
consequences. Post believes that this reflected more of a
personal opinion, rather than a formal GOS position.
4. Private Sector
------------------
(SBU) Ribera said that Europeans, and particularly the
Spanish, recognized the importance of providing incentives
for the private sector to develop new technologies and
industries to help reduce emissions. She said that under the
first stage of Kyoto, Spain had agreed to a very ambitious
target (NOTE: Which it has not met), which had encouraged
Spanish companies to invest early in new technology and
alternative energy. Those companies were now benefiting from
a more favorable position, relative to their counterparts in
other countries. Acknowledging that this was not a
universally shared view, Ribera said industry opposition to
the European Commission's proposals for emissions reductions
was to be expected, and she described much of this opposition
as simply a negotiating position.
5. GOS Reaction to Clean Technology Fund
-----------------------------------------
(SBU) Ribera had discussed the Clean Technology Fund (CTF)
MADRID 00000309 002 OF 002
with Treasury DAS Ken Peel on February 12 on the margins of
the Spanish renewable energy mission to Washington (septel).
She said Spain viewed the initiative sympathetically and
agreed on the importance of deploying clean technology to
developing countries. However, the GOS' reaction is one of
caution. She said many developing nations have reacted
negatively to the CTF concept, which she believed was related
to concerns over the fund's governance and transparency
requirements. She said the concept has been very
controversial among a wide range of developing countries.
Ribera also shared a concern that making these resources
available to developing countries might reduce their sense of
urgency in making ambitious commitments to reduce emissions.
(NOTE: Post responded that it seemed more likely that the
provision of resources would increase their confidence that
they could assume and meet ambitious commitments). The GOS is
generally interested in participating in the CTF, but would
first need to understand how these issues will be resolved.
AGUIRRE