EnviroSpin Watch

Hey! It's Russian roulette.....

Note what I wrote yesterday in my blog on Russia ditching the Kyoto Protocol: "But no further comment at this stage. Let's see how this all pans out. The politics are even more complex than the science." How sage, how wise!

After all, we are dealing with The Kremlin and Russian internal politics. So no surprise at the new headline, just up, as reliable old Alex K. plays the tables as fast as the Russians spin the Kyoto Protocol: 'Russia "still open" to Kyoto pact' (BBC Online News, December 3, 16.10 GMT):

"Russia [now] says it has not yet reached a decision on whether to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the global climate treaty.
It has effectively disowned an official who only yesterday said Russia would not ratify, and it is still in the process of coming to a decision.

The official, Andrei Illarionov, said Russia would not ratify Kyoto in its present form, citing economic reasons.

The treaty cannot acquire the force of international law unless Russia, one of the world's big polluters, ratifies it.

Mr Illarionov, President Putin's chief adviser on economic issues, said in Moscow: 'Of course, in its present form, this protocol cannot be ratified. It is impossible to undertake responsibilities that place serious limits on the country's growth.'

But Russia's deputy economy minister, Mukhamed Tsikhanov, said the country was moving towards the treaty."

Watch this space! Tomorrow, I expect it will be an entirely new pact - 'The Moscow Protocol'? It's like The Three Sisters: "Oh! When shall we go to Kyoto, Masha?"

In reality, of course, it is incredibly complex factional in-fighting, including pragmatic practical economists and those who hate any American alignment, not to mention those with vested oil and gas interests.

Philip. Nyet convinced either way!