Cablegate: Media Reaction: Brazil and Climate Change

VZCZCXRO1587
OO RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0694 3311357
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 271353Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0228
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA IMMEDIATE 0242
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 0043
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000694

SIPDIS
STATE INR/R/MR
IIP/R/MR
WHA/PD
DEPT PASS USTR
4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC OIIP BR XM XR KMDR KGHG
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: BRAZIL AND CLIMATE CHANGE

"Embarrassment"

Op-ed in liberal Folha de S. Paulo (11-27) by columnist Eliane
Catanhede says: "....one of the divergences [between the U.S. and
Brazil] is that Brazil has sided with France - meaning Lula has
sided with Sarkozy - to take the lead [in a series of areas]
including Copenhagen.... Hillary Clinton acknowledged [to Brazil's
Foreign Minister Celso Amorim] that Brazil's proposal was an
'inspiration' for other countries [including] the U.S. The fact is
that Lula likes to aim high, maybe too high.....audacity is a good
thing, and voters even like it. But when there is too much of it,
it may scare [people]. That's what happened yesterday in [the
summit of Amazon countries] Manaus: Chavez, Uribe, and the entire
group ran away from Lula's fixation of being the leader of
everything."

"U.S. and China's Retreat Re-invigorates Climate Conference"

Editorial in center-right Valor Econ????mico (11-27) notes:
".....[The
U.S. proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17%] is a small
cut, almost meaningless for the world's second largest emitter.....
But there are other important factors to take into consideration
besides the targets. The U.S. made a decisive step to enter the
fight against global warming, from which it has stayed away for too
long...."
White

© Scoop Media