JOHANNESBURG, Sept 3: The troubled UN pact on global warming got a big boost at the Earth Summit here on Tuesday when Russia followed Canada in promising it would ratify the Kyoto Protocol soon, and China and Japan spelt out their support.

Ratification by Russia will mean that the climate change pact will take effect, despite US opposition to it.

The pact is designed to reduce the emission of so-called “greenhouse gases” which prevent heat from radiating out into space, causing temperatures to rise worldwide, with resultant droughts and the melting of the ice-caps, causing the sea-level to rise.

“Russia has signed the Kyoto Protocol and now we are preparing for its ratification. This ratification we hope will occur in the very near future,” Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said in a speech at the 10-day summit.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “We are positive about this process and the aims of the Kyoto protocol. We intend to ratify.”

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said the Canadian parliament would be asked to vote on ratification “before the end of this year”.

Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji told the summit that China had deposited its instrument of ratification with the United Nations on Aug 30.

“The Chinese government attaches great importance to climate change. In recent years, the Chinese government at all levels has exerted tremendous efforts to address this problem,” said a statement issued by the Chinese delegation.

In an apparent appeal to Russia, it added: “China hopes that other developed countries will ratify or approve the protocol as soon as possible so as to enable it to enter into force within this year.”

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said his country would “do its utmost” to persuade countries to ratify Kyoto, as the accord was vital for tackling global warming under a common set of rules.

One of the most complex environmental treaties ever attempted, Kyoto requires industrialized countries — but not developing ones — to make specific cuts in their output of carbon-based gases from their 1990 levels by a deadline of 2008-2012.

Its framework was agreed in 1997, but it took four years of arduous talks to agree on its rulebook.—AFP