Vladimir Radyuhin Russian scientists deny that the Kyoto Protocol reflects a consensus view of the world scientific community. As western nations step up pressure on India and China to curb the emission of greenhouse gases, Russian scientists reject the very idea that carbon dioxide may be responsible for global warming.

K.Venugopal Sapporo: The leaders of the developed and the developing world still do not quite see eye to eye on which countries should be asked to shoulder the challenge of addressing climate change and on the scale of their individual efforts.

By JOSEPH COLEMAN Rusutsu (Japan) July 8: Leading industrial nations on Tuesday endorsed halving world emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, edging forward in the battle against global warming but stopping short of tough, nearer-term targets.

Alarm bells are ringing in Delhi: there is a rumour that the European Union proposes to levy a carbon tax on imports from India. The excuse would be that the EU, together with other signatories to the Kyoto treaty, has done much to cut carbon emissions, even at the expense of its industries. India, however, did not sign the Kyoto treaty, and has gone about merrily increasing its carbon emissions. It saved money by not spending on carbon-saving technologies. Its industries have therefore gained an unfair advantage, and only deserve to be punished.

FANS of

Britain's negotiator on climate change warned Thursday that the upcoming summit of the Group of Eight rich nations was unlikely to reach a consensus on how to tackle global warming.

TWENTY years ago yesterday, James Hansen, a climate scientist at NASA, told the world that he was "99%" certain that humans were already warming the climate. "The greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now," Dr Hansen said then, referring to a string of warm years and the accumulating blanket of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and other gases emitted mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and forests.