Overview

Just before finishing the manuscript of this book, the Russian position on Kyoto became clearer. At a conference in Moscow on global warming, at the end of September 2003, Russia s President Vladimir Putin poured cold water over the expectation of many about any hope that Russia would be eager to sign the Kyoto protocol. Without a Russian signature, the protocol will be dead. Putin s remarks were less than subtle for an audience which consisted of true believers in man- made global warming. In Russia, you often hear, either as a joke or seriously, that Russia is a northern country and it would not be scary for it to be two or three degrees warmer, Putin said in an unexpected interjection at the conference. Maybe it would be good and we could spend less on fur coats and other warm things, he said. The audience was not amused.

In a subsequent intervention Putin s economic adviser, Andrei Illarionov, elaborated on the Russian position. According to the Moscow Times, Illarionov voiced doubts about global warming being a stable trend, echoing Russian scientists who told the conference that the Kyoto Protocol s advocates had failed to prove that emissions trigger global warming. They pointed at other factors which require more thorough analysis. Moreover, Illarionov explained that Kyoto would put constraints on Russia s economic growth. He pointed out that the United States and Australia opted out of the protocol after finding out that compliance would be too costly, and that it would be even less...