High voltage powerlines cross a field on the outskirts of Sydney. In Australia, with one of the world's highest per capita greenhouse gas emission rates, the environment is a key election issue with the conservative government refusing to ratify the Kyoto treaty and the opposition promising to sign it should they win October election. PHOTO - REUTERS
MOSCOW - The Russian government approved the Kyoto Protocol on Thursday, giving decisive support to the long-delayed climate change treaty that should allow it to come into force worldwide. The controversial pact will now be passed to the Kremlin-dominated parliament for ratification. President Vladimir Putin's government acted despite worries by many officials who say the 1997 U.N. pact, which orders cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming, would harm the economy and not protect the environment.
The European Union hailed Moscow's decision and seized the moment to urge Washington, whose rejection of the pact in 2001 left it dependent on Russia's approval, to rethink its position. Russia, which accounts for 17 percent share of world emissions, holds the key to Kyoto's success or failure since the United States pulled out.
The pact becomes binding once it has been ratified by 55 percent of the signatories which must, among them, account for 55 percent of developed countries' carbon dioxide emissions. Kyoto has surpassed the requirement of signatories after a total of 122 nations have ratified it. But they account only for 44 percent of total emissions without Russia. Russia, a signatory of the pact, initially prevaricated on ratification. But in May Putin backed it in exchange for EU agreement on terms of Moscow's admission to the World Trade Organisation. "We warmly welcome the decision," a European Commission spokesman said in Brussels. He added that the EU now expected Washington to review its attitude to the pact.
Environmentalists and experts were equally upbeat about Moscow's decision. However, Thursday's meeting left unanswered the question of when parliament could practically debate ratification. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, who was absent from the cabinet meeting, predicted a tough battle in the State Duma lower house. Proponents of Kyoto say that apart from contributing to environmental security worldwide, Russia would be encouraged to upgrade its industries to match new standards and could earn billions of dollars selling excess quotas for gas emissions. But opponents said Russia was likely to be the loser. Putin's economic advisor Andrei Illarionov warned that new environmental standards would cost industry more and risk the Kremlin's plan to double gross domestic product in 10 years.
Reuters
