S e c o n d e d I t I o n 1 Reading for the Real World 1

adhere
to
the guidelines of 
the Protocol. The 15 EU nations at the summit agreed to further reduce emissions 
to 8 percent, the US to 7 percent, and Japan to 6 percent below the 1990 levels.
The US officially signed the Protocol on November 12, 1998, but the US 
president then did not send it to the Senate to officially approve the treaty 
because he knew there was little hope for its approval at that time. When the 
next president took office in 2000, the new administration openly 
opposed
the 
Protocol. The Bush administration claimed the standards set in the Protocol 
were unfair to developed countries. Australia also rejected the Kyoto Protocol on 
the basis that the UN 
predictions
of industrial growth (and thus future 
greenhouse emissions) were improbable.
Even with the predictions of the Protocol called into question, many 
countries continued to push for its approval. In July 2001, delegates met again 
in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the Protocol. At the Bonn meeting, the delegates 
agreed, despite opposition from US representatives, on setting guidelines and 
timetables for achieving the reductions set in the Kyoto Protocol. The following 
year, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South 
Africa, Russia 
indicated
it would soon officially approve the Kyoto Protocol. 
However, in late 2003, Russia said it needed to further study the Protocol’s 
requirements and predictions before signing. Without Russia’s approval, there 
seems little chance the Kyoto Protocol will ever be completely 
ratified
.
Reading Time
_______ minutes _______ seconds
583 words
27
adopt --- to take as one’s own; to follow
33
adhere to --- to follow; to obey
39 
oppose --- to speak against; to take action against
42
prediction --- a statement about the future
50 
indicate --- to show
53 
ratify --- to formally accept

---

R 
eading Comprehension
62