The emissions target scheme announced by Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev recently aims at slashing emissions by 10%-15% from Russia’s emissions in 1990 when the country was a part of the Soviet Union. At that time, Russia’s greenhouse-gas emissions were far higher than they are at present.

Environmentalists, who are not happy Russia’s target for emissions reduction, argue that the target fell short of expectations from developing countries.

Alexey Kokorin, the Russia spokesman for the environmental protection group WWF, remarked that Russia’s emissions target was “very low.” United Nations is set to seal a new treaty on climate in December 2009 to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Under the talks being held to arrive at the new UN climate treaty, rich nations are required to put forward mid-term emissions targets.

Pro-environment groups and developing countries are demanding that industrialized nations cut their emissions by 25%-40% below the 1990 levels, in accordance with an array of reductions suggested by a United Nations committee of climate scientists.

At present, Russia is the world’s third largest polluter, after China and the United States.

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