US embassy cable - 04ROME354

UNCLAS ROME 000354 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EB/TRA (WALKLET); 
FAA FOR AEE-1 (BURLESON); 
FAA BRUSSELS FOR AEU-1 (FELDMAN); 
MONTREAL FOR US ICAO MISSION 
 
    E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR, ECON, SENV, IT, AVIATION 
SUBJECT: ICAO CAEP 6:  ITALIAN VIEWS 
 
REF: SECSTATE 11541 
 
(U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT 
ACCORDINGLY.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
1. (SBU) SALVATORE MINEO, ITALY'S CAEP REPRESENTATIVE AND 
ENAC (NATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY) DIRECTOR FOR 
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, MET JANUARY 30 WITH SENIOR FAA 
REPRESENTATIVE AND SCIENCE COUNSELOR.  MINEO IS UNABLE TO 
PARTICIPATE IN CAEP 6 DUE TO ILL HEALTH, BUT WILL BE 
REPRESENTED BY PAOLO CIANCAGLIONI, ITALY'S DEPUTY 
REPRESENTATIVE  AT ICAO.  DURING THE SECOND WEEK OF CAEP 6, 
PAOLO DRAGO, A NOISE EXPERT FROM ALITALIA, WILL ALSO BE 
PRESENT AS A TECHNICAL ADVISOR.  ENAC REGULATORY DIRECTOR 
ALESSANDRO CARDI MAY ALSO SEND ANOTHER ENAC OFFICIAL TO CAEP 
6, BUT NO ONE HAS YET BEEN NAMED. 
 
2. (SBU) BALANCED APPROACH:  MINEO EMPHASIZED THAT ITALY WAS 
VERY CLOSE TO THE U.S. POSITION ON THE BALANCED APPROACH.  HE 
PARTICIPATED IN A RECENT EXCHANGE OF VIEWS WITH EU CAEP 
REPRESENTATIVES IN LONDON, AND FELT THAT THERE WAS BROAD 
SUPPORT FOR ADOPTING THE GUIDANCE MATERIAL.  ITALY HAS 
ALREADY IMPLEMENTED THE BALANCED APPROACH, AND ENAC IS 
WORKING TO EXPLICITLY INCORPORATE IT INTO ITALIAN LEGISLATION. 
 
3. (SBU) NOX: MINEO STATED THAT THE EU WOULD LIKELY SUPPORT 
NOX REDUCTION TARGETS IN THE 20 PERCENT RANGE.  THERE WAS A 
    SENSE IN EUROPE THAT PUBLIC OPINION WOULD BE STRONGLY IN 
FAVOR OF MORE STRINGENT REDUCTIONS, AND THAT 10 PERCENT 
TARGETS -- EVEN AS A STARTING POINT -- WOULD RISK PUBLIC 
OPPOSITION.  MINEO EXPECTED SOME TYPE OF U.S./EU COMPROMISE 
TO BE REACHED AT CAEP 6, SO LONG AS THERE WAS A STRONG 
COMMITMENT TO NOX REDUCTION. 
 
4. (SBU) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS:  MINEO STRESSED THAT THE 
EU AND U.S. POSITIONS WERE RATHER DIFFERENT ON THIS ISSUE, 
AND THAT THE ITALIAN/EU POSITIONS WERE RELATED TO THE KYOTO 
PROTOCOL.  HE ADDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE FINANCIAL CONDITION OF 
AIRLINES MADE PROSPECTS OF EMISSIONS CHARGES UNLIKELY IN THE 
NEAR FUTURE, BUT SUCH CHARGES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AN OPTION 
FOR THE DISTANT FUTURE. ITALY WOULD PREFER VOLUNTARY 
MECHANISMS, BUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SUCH MEASURES WOULD NEED 
TO BE STUDIED AND DISCUSSED.  MARKET-BASED MECHANISMS WOULD 
DEFINITELY NEED FURTHER STUDY OF POTENTIAL LEGAL AND 
ORGANIZATIONAL IMPLICATIONS. 
SEMBLER 
 
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	2004ROME00354 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED