- UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528092 Date 01 15 2014 RELEASED IN FULL 30 October 1997 Metnorandum To Please See the uached List From USDEL Bonn --Mark G Hamb Subject Climate Change TaJk5 U11date Na I I Activities for October 29-JU 1997 This is one of a series of unofficial and infonnal reports covering mc ctings and activities related to I he meetings of the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Berlin Mandate AGBM S the Subsidiazy Body on Implementation SBI and the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technological Advice SBSTA which are meeting in Bonn between October 20-31 1997 This report covers activities from the afternoon of Oct 29 through the morning or Oct JO The following reports are also included a Oct 27 reports on contacts with Canada and Australia over the impact of GHGs on national security by Capt Chris Weaver USN · · b An account on the Oct 28 meeting of SBr on outstanding issues prepared by Leslie Cordes USAID and c Reports 011 Oct 29 contact groups and informal sessions dealing with emissions trading and QELROS prepared by EPA's Sharon Saile Although the contents of this report are unclassified they are not intended for attribution or for use outside the U S Government The final paragraphs oftlus report can be used as a submission to the Dally Activities Rcporat AR as qcsircd ar appropriate Climate Changes Talks Update No 9 AGBM Plenary Be ns Laborious Task of Finali7 ing the Negotiating 'text while Contact Groups Continue their Deliberation ID Outstanding Issues U S Provokes Some 'Excitement The AGBM resumed its plenary sessions open to all NGOs and accredited observers informal sessions excluding them are expected to resume somewhat later in the program on Oct 30 wiili a reading of Article 2 ofthc Chair's revised draft on policies and measures PAMs A reponwas delivcred by 1he Chafr of the working group Kame of Senegal following which NG Os and business had a1t opportunity to comment on the topic As the latter were e enly divided between for and against'' harmoni1 cd PAMs the Chair chimed in that given the divisions among he non-governmental organizations it might be best to lcavae the matter for governments to decide · The Chair then proccded to go through each paragraph and sub-paragr iph of the text and took aboard comxnents from a wide range of countries At one poln4 the U S point d out that the fonnulation or one paragraph did not reflect the views of all of tltose in the room There was no conscnsllS The Chair Raoul Estrada of Argentina responded that only three countries were against this paragraph - the U S Canada and Australia Therefore a consensus was in fact in play REVIEW AUTHORITY Alan Flanigan Senior Reviewer UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528092 Date 01 15 2014 uuJ UNClASSIFiED--U S D-eparti i ient of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528092 Date 01 15 2014 The U S countered once more and then was followed by Venezuala's rejection ofthe Chair's ruling whereupon Estrada then said he would call for a Vote and sent the Secretariat in search of a roster of countries The room was abuzz for a few moments during which the U S suggested I hat its hltention was LO give the Chair an opporrunity to redraft the offending paragraph in a manner more broadly acceptable Venezuala withdrew its re iection or the Chair's JU ing and the question of a vote was laid to rest - for the moment USDEL's Daniel Reifsnyder thanked the Chair for providing the meeting with much e xcitement a remark which was greeted with lau ghlcr by the crowd iu the plenary hall Levity aside the exchange gives funher evidence of the rather direct manner in which Chai nnan Estrada inr ends to proceed in bring a document forth 1o·the COP In tltis instance we were the targets of his disfavor but on a relatively minor point later it will no doubt be one or the al her of the two key blocks in the hall lhc G-77 China and I he Ew-opean Union EU The Status of Key lssutll as of 10 30 97 As is indicatod in the attached detailed reports prepared by USO EL members there has been movement in seveml areas although final agrecmcnl is fleeting Whether this is merely a negotiating taclio on the part of the blocking party ies or rcprcsen S firmly held conviction is dependent on several factors Following is a wrap-up of wherre several oflhcsc issues stand as of mid-day Oct 30 a Article JO the article substituted for a watered down version of 1ur Annex B Much progress was achieved in a contact group which met on Oct 29 Argentina spoke in terms strongly reminiscent of the declaration issued by Presidc111S Cliruo11 and Menexn in mid-October and e -pressed strong interest in Article 10 Note Estrada bas reportedly remarked with some sincerity that Argentina lOOk this pQsition because it was ''tricked in10 believing that the U S emissions target would have included a substantial reduction by 2010 End Note Mcxicio did not reject the concepl bul raiScd several questions about it including the issue about who is to decide if the proposed level is adequate Mexico prefers that it not be judged that as it would be making irs proposal voluntarily then no one should qu cslion it o r second-guess Mexico The U S suggests that all Annex cotum'les give their assent while the EU believes that a significant majoril ' of Annex I should be sufficient In spite of these developments tl'Jc G-77's official position as articulated by Saudi Ar ibia remains firmly opposed to Article 10 because of the view that it imposes new commitmel ltS on developing countries - despite rhe 'Voluntary'' feature of this provision Joint lmplementltion with credit Iran and the G-77 generally remain strongly opposed to joint implementation with credit - even among Annex I Parties alone New Zealand countered by indicating that the concept should only be applied to non-Annex I Panies The EU meanwhile wants n only within Annex I states We have received indications that the G-77 will relent in the end but the issue may be linked to other issues such as the level of the target b c Gases A contact group on this topic has agreed on a basket of six gases up from the three in the EU's proposal but Japan is currently blocking because they could not spare anyone to attend the contact group We are confident that this wil be worked out evenrually d net vs non-net This was discussed in QELROS Jasl nighL However the mattct is complicated by the G•77 China 's insistence on reinserting some of its te -«whieh was dropped e sink ' no decision has been taken on this which was sent to another contact group fot discussion on Oct 30 Although we believe hat some sink language will be decided upon il is not goilig t o be I he New Zealand proposal UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528092 Date 01 15 2014 ' v UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528092 Date 01 15 2014 Multi-year budget'' concept AgaiI1 most if not all Annex l Pwies are in agreement with this concept except the G-77 China which continue to insist on a a flat year target g Policies and Measures A$ indicated this issue has been sent to I he Plenary for deliberation The Chair has asked a few countries the US and the EU included to attempt to work out some compromise language on a two option paragraph in the relevant article Art 2 If they arc not successful ths Chair indicated that the manerwill be forwarded to the COP for final resolution h D eloping Countries Resolution of this question is Lied ironically _to an external event the visit QfJ residcnt Jiang Zemin to Washington lfhe gives enough light the t matt ers here could change quite abruptly lfhe does nol hen Article 4 1 will be discussed during the afternoon of Oct 30 Evolution is not expected to be debated in the plenary although Estrada has promised to fotward the topic to the COP for further discussion as appropriate A contact group among key Annex I countries those aucnd ing the Tokyo meeting will meet on the night of Oct 30 to consider options for dealing with the guesLoin of developing countries in I yoto and I Economies in T -ansition EIT - baseline and paper issues Neither Qfthese issues has been fully resolved as yet We are waiting some clcar--cut decisions and guidance on this issue In sum the on going effort 10 reach consensus is a difficult task The ·G-77 Chlna is blocking the te 't in sevc al areas and is attempting to reintroduce language throughout the text to reflect either its insistence on no new commitments for developing cotmtric s or for an effon to wring out concessions from developed countries in the areas of increased foreign assistance and technological transfer A 1 ext may possibly be produced and perhaps even approved by the vast majority of the 171 Parties to the Convention However whcLhcr this accord will reflect our level of t irget our im islancc on flexibility mechanisms or our need for a meaningful role l Y key developing countries remains quite problematic Canadian Decision on Target Expected S0011 Sources on the Canadian dekgation citing the pressure on the Chretien Government which followed our decision on a stabilization targcl in the 2008-2012 time fr 1mc is expected to come up with its own target in the m -ar future Perhaps as early as Friday It is likely to miITor our own effort aIUiough there is presssurc in Otrawa to demonstrate a cliffc rem target by echoing somcUring like Japanis 2 5 to 5 percent reduction No public announcemcnl will be made as tl1e Provi nccs must first be consulted Kimble Consultations OES Aeling Assistant Secretary Melinda Kimble has met with several delegations during her brief stay in Bonn In addition to a large contingent from Mexico which was alerted to the fact that clima1 c change will be on our Presid nt's agenda when Preside11t Zedillo visits she also met with the heads of the Malaysian and Philippine delegations on Oct 29 Both told her that the G-77 is unlikely to agree to a mandate at Kyoto which specifies negolatio ns which will culminate in quantitative limitations for them even if these are growth budgets It is too soon to do so ' the Malaysian said The Malaysian indicated that a preferred course of action would be an initial demonstration of good faith by developed countries through the establishment some kind of fund which would assist in lechnological transfer or provide assistance to countries· mitigation efforts Melinda met with U S correspondants this morning and will meet with the German media this afternoon in addition to representatives from other countries and Chainnan Estrada and FCCC Executive Secretary Cut ajar UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528092 Date 01 15 2014 lf J uu- UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528094 Date 01 15 2014 RELEASED IN FULL Meeting of the SBI Infonnal Meeting on Outsl a nding Agenda Items October 28 1997 Prepared by Leslie Cordes USAID The SBI had a relatively quick wrap 'Up session 10 approve outstanding items on tile agenda and refer- them to Thursday's S' I Plenary for approval The Chairman began the session with firm i11structions the delegates that the session was intended as a quick wrap-up - as it WdS the lasr iluoimal mecling of r he SB before Kyoto -- and therefore nor the place to raise new issues Toe delegates approved the following to it ems as follows Approval ofboth tbe draft conclusions and the draft decision on Communications from Parties Included in Annex l to the Convention jc Approval of 1hc teXt on Consideration ofinitial National Communications from Parties Not Included in Annex 1 to the Convention for transmittal LO lhe COP ' Approval of the draft decision 011 Activities mplemen1ed Jointly tinder the Pilot Phase for transmittal to the COP · Having already approved the conclusions on the Development and Transfer of Technologies at the informal SBSTA session earlier in lhe day 1he delegates approved the draft decision on Development and Tninsfcr ofTeclmologics for transroittal to ill e COP 'I' Approval of the decision on Financial Mechanisms aud related Annex to the'MOU on the determination of fimdin_g for the implementation of the Convention for transmittal to the COP Approval of the draft decision on Administrative and Financial Matters for transmittal to the COP Interestingly this issue was not taken up by a contdcl group rather the vice-ch air consulted with key delegations in gaining consensus on the te 1 Approvcil oI tl1e Draft Report of the Subsidiary Body foT Implementation on lhc Work of its Seventh Ses sion Bonn 20-29 October 1997 2nd Addendum with an amendment proposed by the United States The amendment pertained to recognition of the divergent views on the issue of the post-Kyoto program budget and · AppTovat of the amended draft decision on Arrangements for Intergovcmmental Meetings for transmittal to the COP The amendment requested the Secretariat to advise the SBI on relevant UN procedures Delegates concluded the meeting by thanking the Chairman for his distinguished service as chair of the SBL jREVIEW AUTHORITY Alan Flanigan Senior Reviewer UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528094 Date 01 15 2014 I n n •n 7 ·ru r •J • 1 n 1 t a y UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528095 Date 01 15 2014 D 1y RELEASED IN FULLj of Summary Conversation with Ms Meg McDonald Ambassador for Environment and Chief of Australian Delegatjon to FCCC 1010 28 Oct 97 Beethoven Halle Foyer After a brief self-introduction I asked Ms McDonald if the Australian government was considering the impact of emission limitations on national security She responded that their military had raised the question some time ago but that the issue had not been fully evaluated yet She indicated that she felt as did the Australian military that it was worthy of development but that nothing significant had occurred along these lines prior to the current conference Ms McDonald suggested that the best way to flesh out the issue right now was to encourage our military representatives in Washington to contact both the Australian Defense Attache and the Deputy Chief of Mission Mr O'Sullivan Both the military and political aspects of the Issue could be thus addressed simultaneously The conversation ended at approximately 1015 Ms McDonald was very pleasant and seemed genuinely interested in th development of the issue between our two governments Captain Christopher E Weaver USN Joint Staff J4 Pentagon Rm 2E828 703-697-1408 7000 REVIEW AUTHORITY Alan Flanigan Senior Reviewer UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528095 Date 01 15 2014 Clll' U ·u ·1·u11 'C'AY UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528096 Date 01 15 2014 RELEASED IN FULLJ Summary of onversation with Ms Jennifer Irish Canadian Foreign Ministry 1655-1700 27 Oct 97 Beethoven Halle Foyer I asked Ms Irish if the Canadian government perceived an impact of GHG emission limitations on national security and that we were evaluating the same thing She responded that her government had not but that it was a relevant topic and they would be raising it with Ottawa Sha asked if our concerns were focused on peacekeeping peace enforcement to which I responded yes but also the areas of routine operations and training such as annual multilateral operations as well She asked if our delegation intended to bring this issue up in Bonn to which replied that we were still evaluating the issue ourselves · Ms Irish went on to say that Cartada was concernect about unforeseen emergencies and their impact on national emissions limits She cited the recent nuclear reactor problems in Canada and that these problems were causing a significant increase in fossil fuel by-products in her country Sile offered that stie thought in such instances nations should have some type of emergency emission category to avoid exceeding their allocations She felt emergent wartime crisis military operations could possibly be put under such an emergency proviso More specifically regarding national security operations emissions Ms Irish indicated that it was possible such an issue could be treated in a post-Kyoto process oi addressing the details of emissions accounting procedures She said that addressing lssues like this in such a manner would facilitate a prompt start provision to take effect relatively soon after Kyoto The conversation concluded at approximately 1700 Ms Irish was very pleasant and seemed genui ely interested in the issue Captain Christopher Weaver USN Joint Staff J4 Pentagon Rm 2E828 703·697-14oanooo REVIEW AU THORITY Alan Flanigan Senior ReviewerJ UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-06143 Doc No C17528096 Date 01 15 2014