Russia has made a surprise pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions at a summit with European Union officials in Sweden. Energy issues and Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization were also high on the agenda. EU officials have said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has vowed to cut his country's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The announcement came after a summit between European Union officials and the Russian president designed to lay the groundwork for a new economic and political partnership between Moscow and Brussels. Medvedev did not comment publicly on the new emissions target but European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said "with the Copenhagen conference starting in just over two weeks we have made very important progress today.
EU officials have said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has vowed to cut his country's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.
The announcement came after a summit between European Union officials and the Russian president designed to lay the groundwork for a new economic and political partnership between Moscow and Brussels.
Medvedev did not comment publicly on the new emissions target but European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said "with the Copenhagen conference starting in just over two weeks we have made very important progress today.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Russia made a surprise pledge to cut back on CO2 emissions at a summit with the EU in Sweden on Wednesday (18 November). Russian diplomats said the country is ready to cut emissions by 20 to 25 percent below 1990s levels by 2020, up from a previous commitment of 10 to 15 percent. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was unclear on the country's WTO plans The move, coming two weeks before the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen, falls short of the EU target of 20 to 30 percent for developed countries. It also fails to clear up the issue of Russia's unused carbon credits, which could cause a crash on the carbon exchange market if Moscow cashes them in. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the CO2 decision. "We are currently negotiating among the world capitals," he said about pre-Copenhagen talks. "But you cannot negotiate with nature. You cannot negotiate with physics."
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Russia made a surprise pledge to cut back on CO2 emissions at a summit with the EU in Sweden on Wednesday (18 November).
Russian diplomats said the country is ready to cut emissions by 20 to 25 percent below 1990s levels by 2020, up from a previous commitment of 10 to 15 percent.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was unclear on the country's WTO plans
The move, coming two weeks before the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen, falls short of the EU target of 20 to 30 percent for developed countries. It also fails to clear up the issue of Russia's unused carbon credits, which could cause a crash on the carbon exchange market if Moscow cashes them in.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the CO2 decision. "We are currently negotiating among the world capitals," he said about pre-Copenhagen talks. "But you cannot negotiate with nature. You cannot negotiate with physics."
