The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted in 1997 was the first worldwide attempt to set quantitative, legally binding emission commitments for developed countries and several economies in transition, including Russia. By the end of the protocol’s first commitment period, which began in 2008 and will expire at the end of 2012, Russia’s initial responsibility was to maintain its emissions at the 1990 level. Agreeing to comply with the protocol’s target posed no challenge for Russia, since its emissions were well below the 1990 level at the time. Even so, it was not until November 2004 when Russian leaders decided to ratify it.
Many explanations for Russia’s delayed ratification have been provided. They can be summed up in four arguments. First is the fact that climate change has never been high on Russia’s policy agenda for a number of societal and scientific reasons already discussed.
Second, some worried about the limits the Kyoto Protocol put on economic growth. Despite the protocol’s loose target that allowed for some emissions growth, the voices of the doubtful were quite loud in the Russian debate in the early 2000s, not least due to Putin’s goal to double the country’s GDP within a decade.
Third, Russia was concerned about the equity of the agreement. The Kyoto Protocol required no emission reduction commitments from developing countries, while the then largest emitter, the United States, opted not to join. Many in Russia considered these issues significant shortcomings in the global effort to effectively avert climate change.
And fourth, Russia hoped to secure diplomatic gains by delaying the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. In order for the protocol to enter into force, at least 55 parties had to ratify the treaty, accounting for at least 55 percent of global emissions. When the United States rejected the protocol in 2001, Moscow was left in a decisive position to reach the threshold. As part of its negotiations with the European Union on the Kyoto Protocol, Russia’s consent was linked to progress on its bid to join the World Trade Organization.
Eventually, Moscow did sign on, and it expected to be able to benefit financially from the agreement. As the Kyoto Protocol took effect in 2005, each signatory had an emission target based on 1990 levels expressed in assigned amount units (AAUs), with each unit equal to one ton of carbon dioxide. Due to the collapse of emissions in the 1990s, Russia received the largest surplus of AAUs with the right to trade them in international carbon markets. This potential benefit preoccupied the climate debate in Russia. The United States had been expected to account for the majority of the demand for the Russian surplus. Its withdrawal from the protocol removed the majority of the demand for the Russian AAUs, and Russia thus had to turn to the more complicated Joint Implementation mechanism to benefit from the international carbon market.18