The head of the United Nations environment agency Friday welcomed the decision by Russia's Parliament, the Duma, to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
The fight against climate change "is finally out of the blocks and running as a result of this very welcome decision to ratify by the Russian parliament," said Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program.
"The winning tape, in other words the goal of stabilizing the climate and securing the stability of the planet, is, however, a long way off and we must now redouble efforts to deliver the even deeper cuts in emissions needed," he said.
To enter into force, 55 parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change must ratify the protocol, including developed countries whose combined 1990 emissions of carbon dioxide exceed 55 percent of that group's total. Russia, with 17 percent of the emissions, would push the amount beyond the threshold, according to the Kyoto convention's secretariat.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
