PUTIN AIDE PUTS KYOTO PROTOCOL INTO QUESTION
Andrei Illarionov, Russian President Putin’s advisor on economic issues, said on 2 December that Russia cannot ratify the Kyoto Protocol "in its current format". The statement, made at a Russian-EU business forum in Moscow, came just as negotiators from around the world were in their first days of a two-week climate meeting in Milano, Italy. Illarionov highlighted, in particular, the fact that the Protocol may hamper future opportunities for economic growth, and following the line taken by the US, questioned why Russia should make any commitments if large developing countries remain exempt. While many at the Milan meeting were shocked by Illarionov’s statement, it followed the line taken by Putin at a late September meeting, at which he said Russia would "closely examine" the consequences before ratifying the Kyoto Protocol (see BRIDGES Weekly, 1 October 2003). Commentators were quick to point out that Illarionov’s statement was by no means an official repudiation, and Russia may well go ahead and ratify next year after its parliamentary and presidential elections are out of the way.
After the US pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, Russia’s ratification will either make or break the Protocol, as the Protocol cannot enter into force without countries representing 55 percent of 1990 greenhouse gas emissions signing on.
The ninth Conference of the Parties (COP-9) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is currently going on in Milan, Italy. For daily reporting on the conference, see IISD’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin at http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop9/.
ICTSD reporting; "Russia deals blow to Kyoto," REUTERS, 2 December 2003; "Brussels plays down Putin aide’s ‘no’ to Kyoto," AFP, 2 December 2003; "Is Kyoto kaput?," THE RUSSIA JOURNAL, 30 September 2003.
WHO, UNAIDS UNVEIL NEW AIDS STRATEGY
On Worlds AIDS Day on 1 December, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS released their ‘3 by 5′ initiative, which aims to provide antiretroviral treatment to three million people (out of an estimated six million in need of treatment) living with AIDS in developing countries and countries in transition by the end of 2005. As part of the strategy, the organisations will work towards a more effective supply of medicines and diagnostics, including through "fixed dose combinations" of medicine. According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), such twice-a-day pills are currently only produced by generic companies. MSF called on governments to "make use of the safeguards in their patent laws to overcome patent barriers to accessing these simple and affordable medicines". They described the WHO’s USD 400 target price for treatment by 2004 as lacking ambition, noting that the WHO should encourage the recent trend in falling prices. The prices for generics are expected to fall further with the implementation of the ‘3 by 5′ initiative "due to the creation of massive economies of scale in raw materials and in manufacturing processes", the NGO Health GAP noted. The organisation warned, however, that this economic dynamic was threatened by the US’ current bi-lateral and regional trade negotiations, and accused the US of "pushing many of the hemisphere’s poorest countries into adopting monopoly protections that will give ‘big pharma’ the exclusive rights to sell at any price".For further information on the ‘3 by 5′ initiative, see http://www.who.int/entity/3by5/en.
"World Health Organization and UNAIDS unveil plan to get 3 million AIDS parteints on treatment by 2005," PRESS RELEASE, 1 December 2003; "More ambition needed to bring prices down," MSF, 1 December 2003; " Bush AIDS Plan an Unfunded Mandate," HEALTH GAP, 28 November 2003.
PIC TREATY SET TO ENTER INTO FORCE
On 26 November, Armenia became the 50th country to ratify the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, triggering the treaty’s entry into force in February 2004. Klaus Töpfer, UNEP’s Executive Director, commented that "thanks to the Rotterdam Convention, we now have an effective system in place for avoiding many of the deadly mistakes made in past decades when people were less aware of the dangers of toxic chemicals". Jacques Diouf, the Director-General from the UN FAO, added that "inappropriate pesticides and their misuse still threaten health and environment in developing countries… the Rotterdam Convention provides countries with a major tool to reduce the risks associated with pesticide use". The PIC procedure is aimed at making information about hazardous chemicals readily available in order to facilitate informed decisions by Parties on the import of chemicals and associated risks.
The PIC intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) recently met in Geneva to prepare for the treaty’s entry into force (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 28 November 2003). The first meeting of the PIC Conference of the Parties is expected to take place in November 2004.
"Informed Consent Treaty For Hazardous Chemicals To Become Law," ENS, 28 November 2003; "Treaty on hazardous chemicals and pesticides trade to become law," UNEP RELEASE, 27 November 2003.