As Climate Conference Opens, Russia "Undecided" On Kyoto

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"Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country remains undecided on whether or not to sign the Kyoto agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Opening a major international conference on climate change in Moscow, he said the govenment was still studying the protocol.

Russia's approval is vital for the 1997 pact to acqauire the force of international law, after the United States pulled out two years ago.

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Mr Putin was ambiguous about his views on Kyoto. "(Critics of the pact) often say, half-jokingly and half-seriously, that Russia is a northern country and if temperatures get warmer by two or three degrees Celsius it's not that bad - we could spend less on warm coats and agricultural experts say that grain harvests would increase further,' he told the conference.' 'That may be so, but . . . we must also think what consequences we will face in certain regtions where there will be droughts and where there will be floods,' he added.

EDIT

Our correspondent says Russia's motives could be brinksmanship - waiting for the best possible financial deal; a response to quiet pressure from the Americans keen to see Kyoto collapse; or the result of in-fighting between various parts of the complex government machine."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3147912.stm

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1. The US is acting as a leader

in the most negative of ways. This is fallout from America's decision to abandon the protocol; why should Russia sign on?

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2. Putin Casts Doubt on Kyoto Protocol

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3205879,00.html

Putin Casts Doubt on Kyoto Protocol

Monday September 29, 2003 3:59 PM
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW (AP) - President Vladimir Putin on Monday cast doubt over the fate of the Kyoto Protocol, which needs Russian ratification to take effect, saying that his country is still undecided and pointing at theories that claim Russia could even benefit from global warming.
Speaking on the first day of the U.N. World Climate Change Conference in the Russian capital, Putin offered no indication as to when his government might make up its mind about the landmark pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To go into effect, the 1997 protocol must be ratified by no fewer than 55 countries, accounting for at least 55 percent of global emissions in 1990. After the United States rejected the treaty, the minimum can be reached only with Russia's ratification.

``The government is thoroughly considering and studying this issue, studying the entire complex of difficult problems linked with it,'' Putin said. ``The decision will be made after this work has been completed, and of course it will take into account the national interests of the Russian Federation.'' Pressed by some of the conference's delegates for a commitment to ratification, Putin responded ambiguously, citing domestic critics of the Kyoto pact who theorized that Russia could even profit from global warming. He added, however, that Russia may see some adverse effects too.<snip>
Putin's ambitious goal of doubling Russia's gross domestic product by 2010 might come into conflict with the Kyoto Protocol, requiring Russia to launch a costly overhaul of its industries in order to cut emissions and thereby slowing down economic growth. Putin said Monday that the interests of all countries must be taken into account in setting pollution limits, which he said should not strangle economic development. Putin's comments marked a backward move from Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov's pledge a year ago that Russia would ratify the Kyoto Protocol in the ``very near future.'' But it was not entirely unexpected. The government must submit ratification documents to parliament, and officials had already said that the legislature was not likely to review the issue before the Dec. 7 parliamentary elections. <snip>