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RR RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTRO
DE RUEHBR #0108/01 0341235
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031232Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0404
INFO ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000108 

SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A 

TAGS: SENV KGHG KSCA BR
SUBJECT: PER COPENHAGEN ACCORD, BRAZIL INFORMS THE UNFCCC OF ITS NATIONALLY APPROPRIATE MITIGATION ACTIONS 

REF: 2009 BRASILIA 1381 

(U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 

¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In accordance with the Copenhagen Accord, the Government of Brazil (GOB) on January 29 notified the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) of Brazil's nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs). These NAMAs were released prior to the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP-15) (reftel) and also officially presented at COP-15 by the Head of the Brazilian delegation, Minister Dilma Rousseff. In total, the NAMAs are intended to lead to a 36.1 percent to 38.9 percent reduction in Brazil's emissions by 2020 compared with "business as usual." An accompanying press release from the Ministry of External Relations indicates that the GOB is notifying the UNFCCC of its NAMAs per the Copenhagen Accord. While the notification letter to the UNFCCC does not explicitly link the notification to the Accord, Brazil is demonstrably complying with it, albeit without using the label "associating." END SUMMARY. 

¶2. (U) On January 29, the Government of Brazil (GOB) sent a letter to Mr. Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), that listed the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) Brazil intends to take. The Ministry of External Relations (MRE) sought to put that letter in perspective with the following press release, which it posted on its website simultaneously with the letter to the UNFCCC. 

BEGIN TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE 

The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009. There, a group of countries negotiated a political document entitled the Copenhagen Accord. Although the Accord did not constitute an ideal solution, it offered elements for future discussion in the negotiations of a Climate Change Convention. The Accord was not adopted by the Conference of the Parties, which limited itself to taking note of its existence. The document establishes that, by January 31, 2010, the countries that are Parties to Annex I (developed countries) should register their emissions reductions target for 2020 and the countries that are not Parties to Annex I (developing countries), such as Brazil, should inform [the UNFCCC] of the national emissions reduction actions that they intend to take. In the spirit of transparency and international cooperation, Brazil informed the UNFCCC Secretariat today, January 29, 2010, of the nationally appropriate mitigation actions that the Brazilian Government intends to implement. These actions were early announced by the Head of the Brazilian delegation to COP-15, Minister Dilma Rousseff. END TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE 

¶3. (U) BEGIN TEXT OF JANUARY 29 LETTER TO UNFCCC Dear Mr. De Boer, Having regard to the announcement made by His Excellency President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during the High Level Segment of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) and the 5th Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 5) held at Copenhagen, the Government of Brazil would like to indicate the nationally appropriate mitigation actions that Brazil intends to take, for information of Parties to the UNFCCC. Please note that the envisaged domestic actions as indicated are voluntary in nature and will be implemented in accordance with the principles and provisions of the UNFCCC, particularly Article 4 paragraph 1, Article 4 paragraph 7, Article 12 paragraph 1(b), Article 12 paragraph 4 and Article 10 paragraph 2(a). The use of the Clean Development Mechanism established under the Kyoto Protocol is not excluded. - Reduction in Amazon deforestation (range of estimated reduction: 564 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Reduction in "Cerrado" deforestation (range of estimated reduction: 104 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Restoration of grazing land (range of estimated reduction: 83 to 104 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Integrated crop-livestock system (range of estimated reduction: 18 to 22 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - No-till farming (range of estimated reduction: 16 to 20 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Biological N2 fixation (range of estimated reduction: 16 to 20 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Energy efficiency (range of estimated reduction: 12 to 15 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Increase the use of biofuels (range of estimated reduction: 48 to 60 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Increase in energy supply by hydroelectric power plants (range of estimated reduction: 79 to 99 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Alternative energy sources (range of estimated reduction: 26 to 33 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); - Iron & steel (replace coal from deforestation with coal from planted forests (range of estimated reduction: 8 to 10 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020); It is anticipated that these actions will lead to an expected reduction of 36.1% to 38.9% regarding the projected emissions of Brazil by 2020. The Brazilian Government took an active part in the negotiation of the Copenhagen Accord and understands it as an important step in order to facilitate the conclusion of the on-going two-track negotiations under the AWG-KP and the AWG-LCA with a view to adopt a decision on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol BRASILIA 00000108 003 OF 003 and also on the fulfillment of the Bali Action Plan during COP-16 and CMP-6 in Mexico. END TEXT 

¶4. (SBU) COMMENT. 

The GOB did timely notify the UNFCCC of its NAMA in accordance with the Copenhagen Accord. Further, the MRE's press release makes clear that the GOB was doing so to honor the commitment it made as one of the negotiators of the Copenhagen Accord. However, the letter to the UNFCCC does not link the notification of Brazil's NAMAs to the Copenhagen Accord nor does it include a statement that Brazil "associates" itself with the Accord. Still, Brazil is fully complying with the Accord, albeit without using the label "associating." 

END COMMENT. 

SHANNON Shannon