Howard said Australia intended to meet the emissions targets set by the protocol, but under existing rules the country would be disadvantaged if it were to sign the climate change treaty.

"The difficulty by ratifying, through ratifying under the present conditions, is that countries like China and Brazil and Indonesia would not be subject to the emissions targets we'd be subject to," he told a Melbourne radio station.

"Therefore it would be more attractive for industry to invest in those countries rather than Australia and that would take investment and also jobs out of our country."

His remarks followed renewed demands by the opposition Labor Party backed by a coalition of environmental groups in the last days of campaigning for the October 9 election, for Australia to join the international community in signing the accord.

Australia, like the United States, which has also stood firm in its rejection of the accord despite Russia's decision, refused to sign it in 2001, arguing it was too costly and unfair because developing countries are not bound to make specific pollution cuts.

Opposition Labor leader Mark Latham said that without a national commitment to reversing global warming -- the aim of the Kyoto protocol -- many of Australia's great natural wonders would be under threat.

He said the world-renowned Great Barrier Reef which draws hundred of thousands of tourists a year, could suffer disastrous coral bleaching, while salt water could flood, and destroy, the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.

"We're at risk of losing our natural assets," Latham told Australian television. "And (that's) all the more reason for Australia to follow the international pattern, become part of Kyoto, become part of the effort against global warming."

"We need national leadership," added Latham. "This is a big issue for Australia. I can't understand, given the high stakes involved, why Mr Howard is so backward on this big environmental issue."

Two major environmental groups, the Australian Conservation Foundation and Greenpeace, have also argued that Australia's position on Kyoto islolates it as a global voice on environmental issues.

Greenpeace spokeswoman Catherine Fitzpatrick said the Russian decision demonstrated that Howard's position was "indefensible".