Summary: | "In light of the recent argument that rapid economic growth in Russia over the next decade might result in emissions higher than the Kyoto target, thereby putting much-needed growth at risk, Lecocq and Shalizi revisit the discussion on the costs and benefits of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by Russia. They conclude that even under a very high economic growth assumption, and even under very conservative assumptions about the decoupling between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth, Russia still benefits from a net surplus of emissions allowances, and thus will not see its growth adversely affected by the Kyoto target. In addition, a review of the possible costs and benefits of the Kyoto Protocol suggests that the potential sale of excess allowances far outweighs the other costs. This paper--a product of the Infrastructure and Environment Team, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to analyze climate change mitigation and adaptation options"--World Bank web site
|