This is the first time in half a decade that Russia – the world’s third largest polluter – has submitted greenhouse gas emission data essential for measuring its impact on climate.
Russia‘s pollution levels dropped by nearly 40% during the industrial decline after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and it had hoped to cash in via pollution trading schemes by selling its excess allowance to other polluters.
"For Kyoto this is important because at last Russia has submitted data which means they are serious about the pact," said Alexei Kokorin, climate change specialist at WWF in Russia.
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