Russian Ministers’ decision to ratify Kyoto ‘motivated purely by politics’ according to Putin’s advisor

Thursday, 30 September – Cabinet ministers of Russian President Vladimir Putin today concluded that Russia will ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol will now be sent to the Duma for a vote.

Dr. Andrei Illarionov, Economic Advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, today made the following statement about the Ministers’ decision:

“The decision by Russian cabinet ministers to ratify the Kyoto Protocol was forced, and it is motivated purely by politics – not by science or economics. During government meetings today, no one – not even the proponents of ratification – demonstrated that the Kyoto Protocol has any scientific relevance.

“The decision to ratify will be very harmful to Russia’s national interests, in the short, medium and long term. For his second term in office, President Putin set a target to double Russia’s GDP within 10 years. This goal will simply be unattainable now. Russia is still a very poor country. Kyoto will cripple our economy and make our country less able to achieve badly needed economic growth, thereby harming our poorest citizens the most. We estimate that the average Russian will lose the equivalent of US $7000 as a result of Kyoto’s economic restrictions.

“Many in the international community have suffered the illusion that Kyoto ratification will benefit Russia. No one should be blind: Kyoto may benefit a narrow set of special interests, including businesses who might be allocated emissions quotas, but the country’s population at large will suffer. The same is true for other countries which have ratified Kyoto.

“A seminar at the Russian Academy of Sciences last week illustrated that, perversely, Kyoto would also cause environmental damage by distorting people’s attention to a global – rather than local – environmental problems, and by diverting financial resources to the wrong environmental target. It will directly exacerbate existing environmental problems, such as air pollution, by limiting the use of modern technologies which emit carbon dioxide as a by-product.

“The most important thing that the Russian government can do now is to prepare the measures and actions that would minimize damage from this decision,” concluded Illarionov.

Kendra Okonski, Director of IPN’s Sustainable Development Programme, also commented on Russia’s decision:

“President Putin currently faces a legitimacy crisis in international politics. The decision by him, and his cabinet, to ratify Kyoto should be viewed in this light. Two wrongs don’t make a right. A growing body of evidence shows that Kyoto will harm people and the planet, while doing nothing to curtail climate change. Earlier this year, the Copenhagen Consensus ranked measures to mitigate global warming on the bottom of a list of global policy priorities to advance the wellbeing of humanity,” she said.