The UN treaty on the reduction of global warming, which has been signed by 126 countries, obliges leading industrial countries to reduce their greenhouse gases emissions by five percent in relation to the reference year in the period between 2008 and 2012.
Croatia signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1999, but it has not ratified it yet because of its request to be given a higher quota for greenhouse gases emissions for the base year 1990, in relation to which it will have to reduce its gas emissions by five percent, officials at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Zoning have said.
In the 1990s Croatia had a low level of greenhouse gases emissions due to special circumstances imposed by the struggle for independence, the loss of power sources in other republics of the former Yugoslavia, undeveloped industry and dependence on energy imports. The application of the Kyoto Protocol without an increase in the quota for greenhouse gases emissions would seriously endanger Croatia's economic growth because the implementation of the document would require considerable funds, ministry officials have said.
Croatia is expected to ratify the Kyoto Protocol before it is admitted to the European Union.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change allows a certain degree of flexibility in case of transition countries, which has already been used by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland and Romania, which have chosen base years with the highest levels of greenhouse gases emissions.
Most interested parties (transition countries, the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and Bosnia-
Herzegovina) have supported Croatia's request, but what came as a surprise was the position of the European Union, which offered Croatia a very low increase in gas emissions - 1.3 percent instead of the requested 14 percent.
At the last talks on Croatia's request in Buenos Aires in 2004, EU officials advocated withdrawing the request and solving the problem through talks with the European Commission, as well as using pre-accession funds.
The issue of Croatia's base year will be discussed at a meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn this June.