The United States will eventually join other industrial nations in signing up to the Kyoto global warming pact despite its current opposition to the agreement, Europe's environment chief said on Wednesday.
"If we have more than, let's say, 125 countries around the world signing up to the Kyoto protocol, it will also be more difficult for the U.S. to stand outside," European Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom told a news conference.
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The 1997 protocol, which aims to cut gases causing global warming, took a sharp blow when Washington pulled out in 2001, but a promise of support from Russia has helped revive the deal. Russian ratification is essential for Kyoto to enter into force.
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"I think that there is a political change -- also in the United States," she said. "It is coming from the bottom up."
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