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Belarus ready to pledge 10-percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions

Belarus is ready to make a commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent compared with 1990 under a post-Kyoto climate agreement for 2013 through 2020, Natallya Dankova, a senior official at the environmental protection ministry, told reporters in Minsk on Thursday.

Within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol, Belarus pledged to reduce the emissions by eight percent between 2008 and 2012, the official noted.

Ms. Dankova said that the country's greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 34 percent in 2008 compared with 1990. But the trend reversed in the next years, she said, noting that the emissions were expected to increase further as a result of various projects, including the start of a coal-burning power plant in Zelva, Hrodna region.

Ms. Dankova noted that the European Union was ready to pursue “very tight” emission reduction targets under the new climate agreement, which would likely drive up prices of carbon credits. The credits are now valued at between EUR8 and EUR10 per ton, she noted. //BelaPAN