UN confirms: Russia will support Kyoto Protocol

The information on Russia’s supporting Kyoto protocol was received on June, 16 by the Executive-Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Klaus Topfer, in Buenos Aires.
 Argentina’s Capital will hold the World’s Climate Change Conference in December.

Russia will change its vote and will support the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, said Klaus Topfer in Buenos Aires Wednesday during a meeting with the Argentine Health Minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia. According to this source, the formal announcement will be made on December, during the annual meeting on Climate Change to take place in Buenos Aires.

If Russia finally ratifies Kyoto Protocol to control the level of Greenhouse Effect Gas emission – the information could not be confirmed by the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires so far – Kyoto Protocol would enter in force. “This is a revelation of enormous transcendence”, said after the meeting Argentine Minister of Health, as praised for extraordinary results in December’s meeting.

According to official information from the UN Climate Change Committee, almost 200 countries have ratified the Rio de Janeiro document, drawn up in 1994, which gave rise to the Declaration of the Protocol of Kyoto in Japan in 1997, fixing targets for reduction in GEG emission levels for 42 nations between 2008 and 2012, relative to 1990 emission levels.

To enter in force, the Kyoto Protocol claims for the ratification of at least 55 countries taking part of the Convention, among them, developed countries responsible for the 55% of the emissions out of the total. Up to date, the Protocol has been ratified by 122 members, which explain 44.2% of the emissions. If Russia agrees, the quota would be covered.

Hernan Etchaleco