By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 5 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill that marks Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, clearing the path for the United Nations environmental pact to be implemented next year.
"We do not expect Kyoto to have any material effect on oil and gas companies, regardless of where they are based or where they operate," said John Tysseland, Houston analyst with Raymond James & Associates Inc., St. Petersburg, Fla.
The US and Australia have rejected the protocol, which is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Countries covered by the treaty's provisions include the European Union, Canada, Japan, and Russia.
The 1997 pact is to take effect 90 days after Russian notifies the UN of its ratification. The next round of global climate talks is slated for December in Buenos Aires, Argentina.