Russia will fulfill its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, the presidential advisor on climate issues said on Friday.
"Unlike some other countries, we can say with certainty that Russia will fulfill its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol," Alexander Bedritsky told a news conference.
"We are taking all necessary steps to increase energy efficiency, particularly such measures as are covered by 2020 strategy," he continued.
The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding agreement restricting carbon emissions, some points of which expire in 2012. A new deal is needed to continue efforts beyond 2012.
A UN climate summit which took place in the Danish capital of Copenhagen in December 2009 was originally expected to see the signing of a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol. However, participants failed to agree on greenhouse emissions cuts and only agreed on measures to be taken to keep average increases in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius.
During the summit, President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia had become the global leader in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for almost half of all emission cuts in the past 20 years, and its efforts "considerably compensated for the growth of harmful emissions, registered in other states."
In December Medvedev said Russia will continue increasing energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions regardless of the miserable results of the summit. Even if the climate change prognosis proves irrelevant, such measures would help "improve the atmosphere we live in."
Earlier, the Russian president said the country was ready to sign a legally binding deal on fighting climate change and cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 25% of the 1990 levels by 2020.
The Protocol also covers flexibility mechanisms such as emissions trading, allowing the holder of a "credit" to emit a specified amount of greenhouse gas.
MOSCOW, February 5 (RIA Novosti)
