Russia set to ratify Kyoto Protocol

AS negotiators finished a global plan to tackle poverty and save the environment, Russia said yesterday it will soon ratify the Kyoto Protocol a move that would bring the key climate change agreement into effect.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was among a series of leaders at the World Summit urging action on Kyoto. He said his country planned to ratify the agreement "in the very near future", but did not specify when.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Monday he would submit the protocol to his parliament to consider ratification, and China announced yesterday it had already ratified it.