VOL. XLV

No 23

10-June-2002

ENVIRONMENT

EU, Japan Ratify KyotoProtocol, Australia Refuses

TheEuropean Union and Japan have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, but Australia has said it would not, taking a position previously adoptedby the US despite the recent release of a report by the USEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) that says human activity is contributingto global warming.

TheEU announced in a statement released on 31 May that it had ratified the KyotoProtocol, which aims to reduce worldwide...