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Start Over Topic climate change Topic kyoto protocol Region russia
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1. Has Putin Gone Green? Moscow and the Kyoto Protocol.

Author

Williams, Gregory P.

Subjects
*INTERNATIONAL cooperation on climate change, *RATIFICATION of treaties, UNITED Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992). Protocols, etc., 1997 December 11, RUSSIAN foreign relations, 1991-
Abstract

What may make climate change agreements attractive to states? Russia's decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol is one that could potentially constrain its economic development. I argue that the international relations literature on climate change agreements can be best advanced with the inclusion of models from comparative politics. This argument is carried out through an analysis of Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. I employ a combined two-level game theoretical framework to rediscover Kyoto ratification and explain why it became both rationally sound and politically possible in Russia. At the domestic level, it appears that Putin made ratification politically possible through the elimination of what are called veto-players with the potential to block Kyoto. At the international level, ratification will be shown to be logically sound through a discussion of nested games. Russia, at the time of ratification, was engaged in multiple games at both domestic and international levels. Although Russia appeared to choose suboptimally, its decision becomes optimal when one analyzes the whole network of games with which it was engaged. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2009

2. The EU-Russia Ratification Deal: The Risks and Advantages of an Informal Agreement.

Author

Kotov, Vladimir

Subjects
*RATIFICATION of treaties, *INTERNATIONAL obligations, *CLIMATE change, *DECISION making
Abstract

During the last years, when the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol became dependent on its ratification by Russia, the protocol's prospects appeared quite uncertain. To a great extent this uncertainty was reinforced by the contradictory declarations of Russian officials--promises of imminent ratification that alternated with critiques of the Kyoto regime, including comments that it is discriminatory in character and unacceptable for Russia. The decision-making process on ratification in Russia has not been transparent and elements of uncertainty are dominant. How has the situation changed as a result of the European Union--Russia Summit held in Moscow in May 2004? The answer to that question suggested in this paper is based on the fact that the compromise reached at the summit had the following impacts: (1) it placed the ratification process within a new institutional framework; (2) it had a number of positive implications for facilitating ratification, speeding it up, and reducing uncertainties and risks; (3) it consolidated the positions of the supporters of the Kyoto Protocol in Russia and weakened its opponents; (4) at the same time, the new institutional framework for ratification has led to a number of new uncertainties and risks that may hinder ratification; and (5) the problem, so far, is that that the new risks are not yet fully recognized and protocol supporters continue to counteract the former threats without realizing that the new front lines deviate significantly from the former ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2004

3. Carbon sequestration after pine afforestation on marginal lands in the Povolgie region of Russia: A case study of the potential for a Joint Implementation activity.

Author

Kurbanov, Eldar, Vorobyov, Oleg, Gubayev, Aleksandr, Moshkina, Lyubov, and Lezhnin, Sergey

Subjects
FORESTS & forestry, CARBON sequestration, REFORESTATION, TREE planting, TREES, FOREST protection, NATURAL disasters, GREENHOUSE gases, PLANT health
Abstract

According to the Kyoto Protocol, a Joint Implementation project is a mechanism whereby one industrialized country can finance a greenhouse gas-reducing project in another country. The investors in the project can, in return, claim credits for the reduction in carbon (C) emissions and carbon sequestration. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the potential for carbon sequestration from such projects. The study covers afforestation with Scots pine on unforested land (burnt areas, cleared spaces, gaps, etc.) in the Povolgie region of Russia. Three scenarios were compared: (1) no afforestation (baseline scenario); (2) afforestation with pine, and carbon sequestration only considering above-ground tree biomass; (3) afforestation with pine, but accounting for carbon sequestration in all pools. On average, carbon sequestration in the above-ground tree biomass could be around 80 t C ha-1 during 50 years of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) plantation growth with 54 t C ha-1 in equilibrium storage. A considerable amount of carbon will be bound in the lower layer of the pine forest stand (24 t C ha-1), which is usually underestimated in afforestation Joint Implementation projects, and wood-based products (35 t C ha-1). Sequestered carbon in equilibrium storage is allocated in the following proportions: 46% in pine stands, 21% in the lower level and 33% in wood-based products. To extend the carbon sequestration, harvested wood should be used to manufacture products for long-term use. The results indicate good potential for such projects in the investigated territory in a long-term perspective, in compliance with international costs for sequestered carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2007
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