The fate of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol was thrown into jeopardy when Russian President Vladimir Putin failed last month to provide any indication that his country would ratify it.
Yet one Russian expert on climate change has not given up hope, saying he will continue to urge the Russian government to ratify the pact, aimed at curbing global warming.
"Russia blocked the protocol from entering into force and blocked the activities of 118 countries that have ratified it," remarked Alexey Kokorin, a climate change program coordinator with the environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature.