The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Sydney

Australian prime minister-elect Kevin Rudd said Tuesday he was working on fulfilling his campaign pledge to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, but a law expert said he could face problems. "There are a range of ways in which the ratification process can be transacted and I'm seeking further advice on that now," Rudd told a news conference. "I'm hoping to have a complete statement on that by the time cabinet is sworn in." Australia's ratification of Kyoto will leave the United States isolated as the only major country to have refused to sign up to the treaty, which is aimed at curbing the emission of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Rudd's predecessor John Howard, ousted in weekend elections, was a staunch ally of US President George W. Bush and made Australia a pariah state in the global climate change debate by also refusing to ratify Kyoto. Former US vice president Al Gore, who became an environmental campaigner and went on to win the Nobel peace prize, branded Howard and Bush the "Bonnie and Clyde" of climate change -- a reference to the notorious US bank robbers.