MOSCOW, December 11 (RIA Novosti)
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Russia Retains Formal Membership in Kyoto Protocol
Contrary to media reports, Russia did not withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol following the UN Climate Conference in Doha, Qatar, although its membership is now only a formality. Russia has refused to limit its emission of greenhouse gases, losing various potential advantages, such as the right to sell greenhouse gas quotas called assigned amount units (AAUs).
“Every country, apart from the United States and Canada, has affirmed its membership of the Kyoto process, but in a number of different ways,” said Alexei Kokorin, head of the Climate and Energy program who attended the Doha conference. “Over 100 developing countries, including China and India, are participating in the process through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and are not obliged to limit emissions. Japan, Russia and New Zealand can support CDM projects in developing countries but cannot take part in joint implementation (JI) projects.”
The Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change came into force in 2005. It obliged the industrialized economies to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and included market-based mechanisms to ensure compliance with obligations. In Doha, 200 member countries voted for extending the protocol until 2020, as its first commitment period will end on December 31, 2012..
Russia is not happy with the protocol. In October, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev instructed his deputy, Arkady Dvorkovich, to analyze the expediency of participating in the protocol because Russia had not benefited from it commercially.
Kokorin said Russia has no obligations to limit GHG emissions and so withdrawing from the protocol would be a bad move politically. “China, Kazakhstan and South Korea plan to launch pilot internal systems for regulating CO2 emissions in 2013-2014. Russia would benefit from doing the same,” Kokorin said. He also pointed to the benefits of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, which the US and five other countries created last February. Russia could get funding from the Coalition for pilot projects concerned with short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon (soot), which “is a major problem, especially in the Arctic,” Kokorin said.
Alpari chief analyst Mikhail Krylov said Russia can reduce emissions by 700 million metric tons without joining the protocol. “Using intensive methods to develop the economy and introducing innovations where necessary would be easier outside the protocol,” he said.
InvestCafe analyst Lilia Bruyeva said the protocol’s effectiveness is seriously undermined by the refusal of the main emitters, the United States and China, to sign it. “There are other market mechanisms for reducing the environmental impact, such as green energy technologies, to which Russia is contributing, and bilateral talks between neighboring countries,” Bruyeva said. She added that the Kyoto protocol is an instrument for pressuring Russia, but the country should protect its interests without assuming useless obligations.
Aforex analyst Artyom Deyev said the latest amendments to the protocol only allow Russia to sell 2 percent of its AAUs, which makes participation economically unprofitable. Besides, there is no demand for AAUs because the biggest emitters are reducing industrial production.
Novaya Gazeta
Special Services Recruit Students with Threats of Conscription or Prison
Novaya Gazeta has gotten hold of exclusive audio files from a student whose friend was approached by a special services agent.
Three weeks ago, the special services tried to recruit my friend, Seva Chagayev. He got a phone call from someone called Lyosha “Smile,” a character well known to many who take part in the street rallies. “Smile,” who is believed to be a Federal Security Service agent, invited Seva to a cafe to “talk about his future.”
“Smile” is often seen during opposition rallies commanding police forces and giving orders to arrest activists. He also sometimes imposes himself on activists and their conversations.
When he met Seva in a cafe, he immediately produced a comprehensive dossier which demonstrated a very profound knowledge of Chagayev’s personal life, from the details of his admission to university, to his ambition to serve in the Air Force. And then he proposed “cooperation,” with prison or military conscription as alternatives.
Below are a few excerpts from their recorded conversation.
Smile: Who are you trying to defeat?
Chagayev: People like you, actually.
Smile: I cannot be defeated. You are fighting windmills, but I am in a league of my own.
***
Smile: There is a song by one of your idols that goes, “where there’s a herd, there’s a shepherd.” That’s my point – people like me will always be in demand.
The audio files are available on the Novaya Gazeta website and reveal some of the security agent’s views on life, politics and protests. On the other hand, this could just be part of his carefully crafted story.
RBC Daily
Putin Meets with Campaign Activists
At a meeting with members of his winning presidential campaign, President Putin did not bite his tongue. He described the opposition, the state and the corruption in Russia quite frankly. He decided to keep this club of trusted activists going for his full presidential term, although he looked askance at a suggestion that membership cards be issued.
Among the 500 activists there were many famous names: skating champion Yevgeny Plyuschenko, film director Sergei Mikhalkov, singer Nadezhda Babkina, and showman Leonid Yakubovich. They canvassed for Putin during the elections. Now this club will be kept running throughout the entire presidential term. “How about official membership cards?” someone asked. “And maybe a car and a secretary as well?” smiled Putin. “Let’s not be bureaucratic.”
The first to address the president was pilot and Hero of Russia Magomed Tolboyev. He acknowledged that “after hearing that the Defense Minister was sacked, he partied for three days.” “That was long enough,” the president smiled. But the subject cropped up again when blogger Eduard Bagirov said “An anti-corruption campaign is currently under way.” “It’s not a campaign, it’s an anti-corruption policy,” Putin corrected him.
The blogger persisted: “So what about prison sentences?” “They will come, for sure. A fair number have been issued already,” the president said. “It’s not a question of the severity of the punishment, but its inevitability,” he added.
Corruption was not born in Russia, it is typical of all countries with a transition economy, Putin said. “It must be controlled not only in the higher echelons of power or in the Defense Ministry,” he went on. “Look at what is happening in the cities, how money is extorted from people. Look at the education and health services, unpleasant as this subject is. But many cases are difficult to prove, and you cannot pass a sentence out of mere belief,” he said.
One of the guests asked Putin to give a profile of the protests. The president explained the emergence of public protests by the tension built up during the pre-election struggle. “There is nothing unusual about it,” he said. He said protester numbers had fallen off due to a general rejection of revolutions. “An overwhelming number of ordinary people want change, but not a revolution. We’ve had enough of them,” Putin said, recalling what is happening in countries caught in the throes of revolution, where economies and social welfare are collapsing and people are dying.
“The world is looking at a restructuring. The only difference is whether the current leaders will have a hard or a soft landing. What we see is that Russia has most certainly become stronger and more influential over the last 15 years. This is a clear fact. There are many problems that cannot be resolved without taking Russia’s views into account. This might not be to everyone’s liking,” he said. “Doubt gets cast on everything. What can someone with no residence permit possibly say about Tchaikovsky’s music? That is their logic. But it’s changing,” Putin said.
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