Press Release
Contact:
Dr Tim Evans (President, CNE) + 32 (0) 2 506 4000 or +44 07956 969523,
tim.evans@cne.org
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Press Release Contact: |
Russia must not bow
to EU pressure as Kyoto is
fundamentally flawed - says leading Brussels think tank
BRUSSELS, 23 SEPTEMBER 2004 — Following today's reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants his country to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol, Brussels's leading free market think tank, the Centre for the New Europe (CNE), has urged him to reject such a stance arguing instead that he should not bow to pressure on this issue from the EU.
Questioning the idea that global warming is a consequence of human activity and believing that the Kyoto is fundamentally flawed CNE President Dr. Tim Evans states:
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"As the scientific basis for global warming is increasingly uncertain, it would be tragic if Russia now bows to pressure from the EU and signs on to Kyoto. Just at the point when the ratification process for Kyoto is beginning to break down anyway, the Russians should instead stand firm against such misguided outside pressure. Not only is Kyoto ineffective because it fails to take account of emissions in the developing world but it also carries with it excessive economic costs that would simply stifle economic growth, undermine research into alternative technologies and, as such, prove to be totally counter-productive." |
Believing that global climate change demands a global
solution Dr. Evans concluded:
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"CNE passionately believes that developing countries need to have environmental policies that promote, rather than hinder, economic growth and human prosperity. It is only by basing decisions on sound - proven - science and by encouraging economically viable solutions that we will be able to move forward." |
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