Date

Mar 24, 2015

Description

This document provides a fascinating look into how personality issues sometimes played into the complex and interrelated policy process surrounding a new climate change agreement. Ambassador Raul A. Estrada-Oyuela was a career Argentine diplomat who was closely involved with climate change negotiations during the 1990s and beyond. He chaired the AGBM which was tasked with negotiating the climate change protocol to be agreed to at Kyoto, and so was a critical player from the U.S. perspective. At the recent Bonn AGBM meeting in Bonn, Estrada had taken a line that "fully protected U.S. Interests." Looking ahead, the U.S. now wanted to work with him as the AGBM tried to complete the task of drafting the new agreement during the final two meetings in August and October. This lengthy memorandum details the U.S. game plan for pursuing its desired points in the final text with respect to issues such as joint implementation, evolving developing country commitments, differentiation, emissions reduction targets and phasing, and emissions trading. In addition to the maneuvering and trade-offs that surrounded these international talks, a new factor was emerging: the role of U.S. domestic politics in the eventual success of any new agreement. This was one of the reasons the U.S. was pressing for joint implementation for credit, which "may be a crucial element in winning Congressional support for the protocol." It is also interesting to note that the U.S. was already considering an end game whereby last-minute opposition from parties such as OPEC to a Kyoto agreement might be finessed by having the chair of the Kyoto meeting declare the protocol adopted in response to a motion, possibly by the U.S., and hoping the ensuing acclamation would drown out the voices raised against agreement. If elected to chair the Kyoto meeting, Estrada had already hinted he was open to such a tactic: "Above all, Estrada is a showman with a zest for drama, and it is likely he would thrill to such a challenge, were he to chair the final COP session."

Source

Department of State FOIA

Document published in following posting(s):

The Clinton White House and Climate Change: The Struggle to Restore U.S. Leadership

Dec 11, 2015

Memorandum: Approach to Estrada (aka "Estrategy") March 18, 1997 (no classification)