Wednesday, April 14, 2004
By Oliver Bullough, Reuters

MOSCOW — Global outrage over Russia killing off the Kyoto Protocol environmental pact would be better than harming the nation's economy by limiting gas emissions, according to a Kremlin adviser's recommendation to President Vladimir Putin.

Andrei Illarionov, Putin's economic adviser and an opponent of the landmark Kyoto pact, advised him to reject it in a document obtained by Reuters Tuesday.

Illarionov is one of the key players in Russian policy on Kyoto. The government, which includes several influential pro-Kyoto ministers, will also make a recommendation.

The treaty, which seeks to rein in global warming with restrictions on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, must be approved by Russia to come into force. Initially, it would cut emissions to 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

Illarionov said any limits would harm Russia's economy.

"The exit of Russia from the Kyoto Protocol at the end of the First Phase would be an act unlikely in terms of domestic politics and at the same time fraught with the most serious consequences for foreign policy and moral standing," Illarionov said in the document, dated March 16. "The possible psychological costs linked to a complete refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol (now) appear preferable against this background."

The document, which bore Illarionov's signature, was obtained from environmental groups. It was not clear what influence it might have over Russia's final decision on ratifying the pact.

The protocol has depended on Russia since the United States pulled out in 2001. Russia is under pressure from the European Union, which backs Kyoto, and the United States, which opposes it.

Under its terms, developed countries responsible for 55 percent of emissions must ratify for it to come into force, meaning Russia's 17 percent share gives it the casting vote.

Illarionov said Russia should allow no outside interference.

Ratifying Kyoto, he said, would mean setting up bodies to "limit economic growth not only on a national level but also on a supranational level. An organ of legal interference in the internal affairs of the country would be created."

The pact, he said, was based on flawed science, with no evidence of human-made factors behind global warming.

Most analysts see Kyoto approval as risk-free for Russia, since greenhouse gas emissions have been much reduced by the collapse of major Soviet-era industry since 1991. Russia could therefore trade its spare quota with countries that are over their pollution quotas.

Source: Reuters