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摘要

The Kyoto Protocol came into force last month,90 days after Russia ratified the treaty.The protocol,which plans to cut the greenhouse gas emissions of the industrialised world 5.2% by 2012,has naturally been the cause of much political wrangling across the globe since the framework agreement was proposed in 1992.President George W.Bush withdrew US support for the protocol almost immediately upon taking office in 2001,claiming it damages US interests,as developing nations such as China and India are not included in the original framework.As the economic potential of these two countries could rival that of the US in this century,it follows that Bush would be wary of willingly participating in the scheme that,by its very nature,is weighted against the US.Certainly the president's responsibility to his electorate,the American people,would have been a factor in the decision,and was to some extent a vote winner in Bush's subsequent re-election last year.