MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Tatyana Sinitsyna) - Vladimir Putin's proposal to George W. Bush on the Gabala radar has eclipsed the real breakthrough of the Heiligendamm summit.
The G8 agreed that anthropogenic emissions should be cut by half by 2050.
"The environmentalists are applauding this wonderful and inspiring decision," said coordinator of the climate program of the World Wildlife Fund Russia Alexei Kokorin.
"Now there is a hope that the world will reach a sensible compromise between its economic development and the environment," said Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, director of the Water Problems Institute.
Bush's agreement was particularly surprising. The Kyoto Protocol, the first international document on combating hothouse emissions, has not been ratified during his presidency. The United States objected to the protocol because it demanded a 7% cut in America's huge emissions, whereas Washington could only do 4.6%. However, in Heiligendamm Bush joined the G8 leaders in their demand of a 50% cut almost without any resistance. Thus, negative anthropogenic impact on the air and climate was recognized at the top political level.
Importantly, the G8 has not only made the decision but also taken a first practical step. The G8 leaders have agreed to start at the end of this year official talks on a new international agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol upon its expiry after 2013. These talks are expected to last for less than two years, pooling together the global intellectual potential. Experts believe it is necessary to devise the most attractive system of economic and other incentives for the introduction of new technologies, a system that would outweigh economic gains from environmentally hazardous activities.
At the start of the summit, there was no indication that it would have such an optimistic finish. After the first day, the press was full with venomous headings about Angela Merkel's attempts to make up for the summit's failure with German cuisine. But Merkel, a fierce opponent of anthropogenic aggression on nature, united the summit's participants in the drive for a cleaner world.
Since the birth of the Kyoto Protocol, which urged our super-industrial world to have mercy on nature and stop air pollution, the world has been pondering over the scientists-sown doubt: is there a danger of climate change because of anthropogenic influence? The scientists themselves are divided on the issue, and their doubts have spilled into politics. It is enough to recall the scale of the Kyoto argument, which rocked Russian society for several years until Putin made a political decision to ratify the protocol.
It should be said for justice's sake that we have not yet seen any noticeable results from the Kyoto Protocol. Most probably, meticulous and routine work has been going on. This is a new and uphill road. But this was the protocol's main mission -to get down to the problem.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
