Steam and smoke rise from a cooling tower on the outskirts of Moscow

The Lower House of Parliament voted 334-73 to approve the treaty, which gives industrialized nations eight years to cut their collective emissions of six key greenhouse gases to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels.

Once approved by Russia's Upper House and President Vladimir Putin, the pact will have been ratified by the necessary 55 countries that accounted for at least 55 percent of global emissions in 1990. Without Russia's ratification, that would be impossible, because the United States declined to ratify the treaty.

The United States accounted for 36 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in 1990.

Although presidential economic adviser Andrei Illarionov has opposed ratifying the pact, Putin vowed to speed up the ratification process in May in return for the European Union's support of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.

The Japan Times Weekly: Oct. 30, 2004
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