THE KYOTO SAGA LINGERS

Russia's Kyoto decision still up in the air:


"On May 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced to the world that, in order to gain European Union (EU) backing for Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), he would 'speed up movement towards ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.' Many have interpreted this to mean the internal debate in Russia over what to do about Kyoto is over....

As the Los Angeles Times was careful to point out, "Putin stopped short of pledging a positive vote on ratification, cautioning that his government still had concerns about the 'obligations' imposed by the treaty. He also said it was still 'not 100% certain' parliament would endorse the Kyoto treaty." None of this should come as a surprise, as this is the same line his government has followed since it stepped back from the treaty in October last year....

Professor Oleg Sorokhtin from the RAS's Institute of Oceanography was quoted by the Russian news agency TASS as saying, "The Kyoto Protocol is not needed at all, as even considerable emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have almost no effect on the Earth's temperature but contribute to agricultural productivity and to the restoration of forest resources."....

With scientific backing for his advisors' concern about the effects of the protocol and the opposition of the Duma, it would seem President Putin left enough get-out clauses in his May 21 announcement to ensure Russia does not have to go through with ratification. Indeed, the announcement that the Academy of Sciences is to make a further report suggests this was anticipated."