The job of an adviser, Mr. Illarionov believes, is to give advice that often clashes with what is passed off as the president's view. The presidential adviser is not a yes man.
He said that the main reason for his resignation was that he could not agree with Russia's ratification of the Kyoto protocol. After the decision in favor of doing so was made anyway, Mr. Illarionov found it impossible to fulfill his duties as sherpa, because if he had continued, he would have had to participate in establishing a Kyoto system in Russia and so do "tremendous damage to my own people."
In Russia, the danger of Kyoto and the struggle against "global warming" has been seriously underestimated, Mr. Illarionov believes. There is no evidence that the minor climatic changes that have been registered over the past century drastically exceed the limits of natural variations observable over millions of years.
In the official's view, the measures proposed by European governments mean cutting Russia's economic potential by roughly 70-80% compared with what it was in 1990. As regards atmospheric emission quotas, which Russia will be able to sell, the country will use them up by 2011, and then there will be nothing left to sell. Moreover, according to criteria offered for G8 approval, Russia will have to reduce hydrocarbon emissions by 90% after 2012. To achieve this, economic activity in the country and, consequently, household revenues will have to be cut by two thirds.
Russia's ratification of Kyoto is, according to Mr. Illarionov, a mistake and a strategic miscalculation.
At the same time, he claims he had fulfilled his duty as a G8 sherpa by June 2002, when President Putin became a full member of the club.
