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Correspondence

Nature 431, 739 (14 October 2004) | doi:10.1038/431739c; Published online 13 October 2004

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Passion and politics cloud the climate debate

Paul Reiter1

  1. Pasteur Institute, 25–28 rue du Dr Roux, Paris 75724, France

I question the view expressed in "Crunch time for Kyoto" (Nature 431, 12–13; 2004) that Russian attitudes towards the Kyoto Protocol are "heavily influenced by its dented pride and need for respect", as a former superpower. I suggest that concerns held by members of the Russian Academy of Sciences about Kyoto, and their surprise at British delegates' complaints about the inclusion of climate-change 'sceptics', are shaped by disquieting memories of the Soviet era.