Russia ratifies the Kyoto Protocol

[f95toli]

The pact will take effect early next year.
link

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Of course Russia would sign it when it has little to no impact on them. Kyoto is a political ploy that benefits both Russia and China at the expense of their industrial competition, which is why each are eager to sign Kyoto and pressure the US to do the same.

 

[Infohawk]

Good for the world!

Now if "Clean Skies" Shrub will put his money where his mouth is and stop flip-flopping...Oh wait it's not flip-flopping. He's CONSISTENTLY opposed to protecting the environment.

 

[RabidMongoose]

Isn't Russia expected to actually make money off of Kyoto right now?

 

[klah]

http://www.businessweek.com/bw...2004101_3878_db039.htm

Russia get hundreds of millions of dollars for doing nothing.

Under Kyoto, countries are required to make cuts in emissions compared to 1990 levels. But because of the fall of the Soviet Union and the economy's collapse, Russia is producing far less -- and emitting less greenhouse gases -- than it did in 1990. Thus, Russia has not only met its targets but it has essentially already "cut" more emissions than it needs to under Kyoto.

VALUABLE COMMODITY. Now, consider that Europe has also embraced a carbon-trading scheme as part of its climate-change strategy. That means the right to emit certain amounts of carbon can be bought and sold. So let's say a country is required to reduce emissions by 1 million tons of carbon. If its steps are so strong that it ends up cutting emissions by 2 million tons, then it can sell the 1 million tons of "excess" cuts to a country that wasn't able to make such large reductions.

That's why the collapse of Russia's economy left the country with a valuable commodity -- its large emissions reductions. In a global emissions-trading system that includes the U.S., the value of those Russian reductions could be as high as $3 billion, by some estimates. Without the U.S. participating, however, the value drops to several hundred million dollars.

WTO COMPROMISE. When the EU asked Russia to join in on Kyoto, not surprisingly, "Russia said: What's in it for us?" explains Annie Petsonk, international counsel for Environmental Defense (ED). Russia wanted more than the dollars from emissions trading, it wanted EU support for its entry into the World Trade Organization.

 

[assemblage]

Good mag. Thanks for the info!

 

[RabidMongoose]

So wait a minute...is Russia now being compared to the whole Soviet Union during 1990?

 

[SirStev0]

so.. since russia promised to lower ... as well as maintain... emissions ... and its bad because they are already low... stop being stupid... the environment is going to hell.. unless you want your grandkids born with disformities and no chance of a future... stop being douches...

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: SirStev0
so.. since russia promised to lower ... as well as maintain... emissions

No, under Kyoto, Russia is allowed to significantly increase carbon emissions from current levels.

 

[RabidMongoose]

Originally posted by: SirStev0
so.. since russia promised to lower ... as well as maintain... emissions ... and its bad because they are already low... stop being stupid... the environment is going to hell.. unless you want your grandkids born with disformities and no chance of a future... stop being douches...

Are you saying that Kyoto is the only way that we can stop 'disformities' and allow our grandchildren to 'have a future'?