Press release - 19 February, 2003
Chirac needs to pursuade the Russian President to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
The Kyoto Protocol is about cutting greenhouse gases. Wind power is one way of providing energy without greenhouse pollution.
WWF and Greenpeace today urged the French President Chirac and
Prime Minister Raffarin to take a firm stance and exhaust all
possible measures to ensure Russia's ratification of the Kyoto
Protocol.
In the past, France has taken credit for climate action through
strong public statements on the Kyoto Protocol. This week, it is
hosting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Meeting in
Paris, the annual gathering of the Panel. WWF and Greenpeace
believe that high level officials at the meeting must make a firm
commitment to pursue ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by
Russia.
"France missed out on a prime opportunity when President Putin
visited Paris last week," said Jennifer Morgan, Director of WWF's
Climate Change Programme. "President Chirac must step up and ensure
that his leadership on climate change is not doubted. The French
government must engage now, to ensure that Russia ratifies the
Kyoto Protocol."
Recently, Chancellor Schroeder and Prime Minister Blair wrote to
President Putin urging his government to speed up the ratification
process. Russia reacted positively, as plans to ratify Kyoto have
moved forward according to Russia officials in recent press
reports.
"What will Chirac's Kyoto legacy be," asked Steve Sawyer,
Director of the Greenpeace climate change campaign. "It is now up
to France to add its weight to the European push to get Russia to
ratify the Kyoto Protocol." Greenpeace and WWF recently sent a
letter to President Chirac asking him to write to President Putin
and urge ratification.
Making the Kyoto Protocol international law is an essential
first step in the effort to curb climate change. It is the world's
only agreement for limiting global warming pollution. It is also
the basis for increasingly effective global action against climate
change in the coming decades. Only Russia is needed for the Kyoto
Protocol to become international law