#8 - JRL 2009-224 - JRL Home
Russian negotiator opposes 'linear' extension of Kyoto Protocol
RIA-Novosti
Moscow, 8 December: Russia would not be satisfied with a new global climate change agreement which would, similarly to the Kyoto Protocol, place emissions commitments on developed countries only, a member of the Russian delegation at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, Oleg Shamanov, has told RIA Novosti by telephone.
He said that the talks in Copenhagen had only just begun, that Tuesday (8 December) effectively marked just the first "working day" at the conference but that differences between the negotiating teams were already apparent.
"Especially clear are the differences between the positions of developed and developing countries. Developing countries are categorically refusing to take on any legally-binding commitments and are energetically insisting on a 'linear' extension of the Kyoto Protocol," Shamanov said. (passage omitted)
Russia's position at the negotiations is that they should enable "a uniform comprehensive agreement in international law" which would cover all thematic blocks concerning the climate and which would involve all countries of the world, primarily those mainly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions whether these are developing countries such as India, China and Brazil or developed countries such as the US, he said.
"A simple extension of the Kyoto Protocol is not a viable option. It gives nothing. It would not satisfy us. It would not satisfy many developed countries. It would not satisfy the environment. It would be an inadequate situation if cooperation were to be continued so that some would have to undertake specific commitments subject to international control and other nations would not have to assume such commitments," he said.
Resolving the climate change problem would require all countries of the world to make a tangible contribution, Shamanov said. However, he said that commitments would be different for developed and developing countries.
On possible preliminary objectives at the negotiations, Shamanov said that the sides expected "to reach a certain more pronounced understanding as to how the results of these talks could be fitted into a political decision package" to be considered by heads of state and government.
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