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United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-0703
June 3, 1998
The Honorable Madeline Albright
Secretary of State Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
The Honorable Robert Rubin
Secretary of the Treasury
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Secretaries Albright and Rubin:
I was honored to be an observer last December at the climate
change negotiations in Kyoto which were among the most complex
ever undertaken. I believe that the agreement reached at Kyoto
was truly historic and I am committed to doing everything I can
to work towards ratification of the protocol.
President Clinton has appropriately said he will not seek ratification
until developing countries agree to meaningful participation in
the effort to combat climate change. A beginning of this involvement
was facilitated by the inclusion of the "clean development
mechanism" in the Kyoto Protocol, which embraces the United
States-backed concept of joint implementation with credit. But
we all agree that developing countries will need to do more to
participate meaningfully in greenhouse reduction.
I was very pleased that Secretary Albright recently announced
the that she will appoint a special coordinator for U.S. diplomatic
efforts to encourage developing countries to limit greenhouse
gas emissions and is launching a "diplomatic full- court
press to encourage meaningful developing country participation."
Chilean President Eduardo Frei's positive approach during his
summit with President Clinton was also good news.
I agree with Secretary Albright that there probably will not
be a single definition of meaningful participation. It will require
something far different from a poor nonindustrialized nation than
from one that is densely populated and on the threshold of development.
As the Administration begins its effort to encourage meaningful
participation by developing countries, it seems to me that the
United States and the other industrialized nations must use more
tools in more places within our reach to press this diplomatic
effort. In his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
and the House Commerce Committee, Ambassador Eizenstat said that
the Administration plans to work with international financial
institutions -- from the World Bank to OPIC to Ex Im to the regional
development banks -- to achieve the goals of promoting policies
in developing countries that will help reduce developing country
greenhouse gas emissions. This approach can help us take real
steps forward in making progress.
As I understand it, United States publicly supported lending
institutions are designing and implementing environmental guidelines
to use in their decisions to provide loan guarantees and insurance.
For example, the United States Export/Import Bank will be initiating
efforts to measure carbon dioxide for each project financed and
to encourage a move towards lower carbon dioxide emissions in
electricity generation. In addition, the US Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC) has proposed new standards including the annual
tracking and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from its power
sector projects, and announced that it will proactively promote
renewable energy projects overseas and support small firms applying
for the U.S. joint implementation program.
These are good first steps. I encourage you to make every effort
to ensure that publicly supported lending institutions, both within
the United States and in other developed countries, evaluate all
projects in developing countries in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
The should adopt policies to ensure that project proponents consider
options that will result in lower greenhouse gas emissions than
would otherwise result. Additionally, policies should seek to
ensure that project proponents are required to seek offsets for
new greenhouse gas emissions. Developed nations, through the quality
of development they invest in, will largely determine the quality
of the environment in the developing world.
This approach would be consistent with the Administration's view
that developing countries must continue to grow but in a more
environmentally sound and sustainable way. Most importantly, the
information obtained from lending institutions would help demonstrate
that developing countries are moving down the path of meaningful
participation. We can make real progress in this area before countries
sign on to commitments under the Kyoto protocol, which would be
an important way to get around the impasse in our country regarding
developing world participation.
Of course, it is critical that all developed countries participate
in this approach with comparable measures in their own international
financing institutions, otherwise our companies could be disadvantaged
with additional costs compared to their international competitors.
Therefore, a common approach through all the developed world financing
institutions is required.
I ask that your staff and mine begin discussing these suggestions.
Sincerely,
Joseph I. Lieberman
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