Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reiterated on Monday the importance of post-Kyoto deals, regardless of whether scientists' notions of climate change are accurate.

The Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding agreement restricting carbon emissions, expires in 2012. A new deal is needed to continue efforts beyond 2012.

"Even if all the talk about the climate and global changes underway in the environment is not confirmed, we will not lose anything because we will be creating energy efficiency to improve the environment," Medvedev told an energy conference.

He said the new global climate deal would enable Russia to expand "research and innovation cooperation with its foreign partners" and give an impetus to both domestic science and manufacturing industries.

Russian Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev said Russia was one of the countries which had "outperformed" other large greenhouse gas emitters in observing the Kyoto protocol.

Russia's emissions in 2006 were assessed at 34 percent below 1990 levels after the economic contraction of the early 1990s.

The 15th UN climate change conference, the result of two years of international talks on a binding treaty to cut global carbon emission, began in Copenhagen on December 7. The conference, which brings together about 15,000 participants from 192 countries, will run until December 18. It has so far failed to produce a plan to fight global warming.

Medvedev wrote on his blog that Russia would restrict its greenhouse gas emissions to 25% of 1990 levels by 2020.

GORKI, December 14 (RIA Novosti)