Russia presents Kyoto ratification to U.N.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Russia's ambassador to the United Nations Thursday formally presented Moscow's ratification of the Kyoto global warming treaty to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The presentation by Ambassador Andrei Denisov occurred in Nairobi, Kenya, where Annan and the 15 U.N. Security Council members were holding a special meeting on Sudan. The object of the Kyoto pact is to reduce greenhouse gases.

The secretary-general called the move "a great day for the whole world."

He said, "This is a historic step forward in the world's efforts to combat a truly global threat."

After U.S. President George W. Bush withdrew U.S. support for the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, Russian ratification became vital for it to enter into force because 55 parties to the U.N. framework Convention on Climate Change had to ratify it, including developed countries whose combined 1990 emissions of carbon dioxide exceeded 55 percent of the group's total.

Russia, with 17 percent of the emissions, pushed the number of nations necessary beyond that threshold and the protocol will become legally binding on its 128 parties 90 days from Friday, Feb. 16.