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No to WTO Russia Accession talks - Putin needs to give Kyoto the green light!

(Brussels, 5 February 2004) As governments will meet at the World Trade Organisation today in Geneva, to discuss Russia's accession to the WTO, Friends of the Earth Europe has, in a letter to EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, demanded that without the green light from Russia, for the entering into force of the Kyoto Protocol, WTO accession talks should be suspended.

The environmental pressure group argues that before accession to the WTO can be further discussed, Russia needs to first show a clear commitment to international environmental governance and the combating of climate change, to improve the balance between trade and environmental rules

Russia's failure to ratify is delaying implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and the desperately needed action to cut down CO2 emissions. In the absence of a commitment by the Bush administration and despite its ratification by 117 countries, entry into force of the Protocol depends entirely on Russia.

Last week, EU Trade Commissioner Lamy mentioned in a speech to the European Parliament Kangaroo Group (1)the need to counterbalance the WTO with environmental and social pillars in global governance. To quote Mr. Lamy ''a WTO suffering from imperial overreach, i.e. the ambition to become the World Governance Organisation, is a chasm, and in between we need to find a better balance than we have at present.''

In the letter sent by FoEE to Pascal Lamy today, FoEE asked that membership to multilateral environmental agreements be a pre condition for WTO membership. This will ensure a better balance between multilateral environmental agreements and trade rules.

Alexandra Wandel, trade programme coordinator at FoEE said:
"WTO accession and no commitment to take action to fight dangerous climate change would be a dark environmental scenario. People and the environment will be the loser, big corporate polluters the winners. Today, Commissioner Pascal Lamy can show how serious the EU is about safeguarding the environment against the negative effects of global trade rules. Lamy has to make sure that WTO accession talks are suspended until Putin has agreed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol."

Contact:
Alexandra Wandel, trade expert, tel:+32-2-5420189
Jan Kowalzig, Climate campaigner, tel: +32 2 542 61 02

Notes:
(1) Speech to the European Parliament Kangaroo Group, Brussels, 27 January, available at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/commissioners/lamy/speeches_articles/spla207_en.htm

Friends of the Earth Europe campaigns for sustainable and fair societies and for the protection of the environment,
unites more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups
and is part of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International.