Key Putin Advisor - Kill Kyoto Now - Reuters

MOSCOW — Global outrage over Russia killing off the Kyoto Protocol environmental pact would be better than harming the nation's economy by limiting gas emissions, according to a Kremlin adviser's recommendation to President Vladimir Putin.

Andrei Illarionov, Putin's economic adviser and an opponent of the landmark Kyoto pact, advised him to reject it in a document obtained by Reuters Tuesday. Illarionov is one of the key players in Russian policy on Kyoto. The government, which includes several influential pro-Kyoto ministers, will also make a recommendation.

The treaty, which seeks to rein in global warming with restrictions on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, must be approved by Russia to come into force. Initially, it would cut emissions to 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

Illarionov said any limits would harm Russia's economy. "The exit of Russia from the Kyoto Protocol at the end of the First Phase would be an act unlikely in terms of domestic politics and at the same time fraught with the most serious consequences for foreign policy and moral standing," Illarionov said in the document, dated March 16. "The possible psychological costs linked to a complete refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol (now) appear preferable against this background."

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http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-14/s_22790.asp