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Canada’s Stance
Canada, historically a leader on so many global issues, lags behind on climate change.
Canadians are the third highest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases. Despite our huge appetite for energy, Canadian governments have done virtually nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, our leaders have turned a blind eye as emissions continue to grow.
Canada's federal government committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2012 in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. But no concrete action has followed this commitment.
Worse still, Canada has joined the U.S., Japan, Australia and other high energy-consuming nations to push for unrestricted use of the Kyoto Protocol’s flexibility mechanisms. These measures allow industrialized nations to finance emissions reductions abroad to achieve "cost efficiencies."
Their true effectiveness would be difficult to verify, and would slow domestic reductions and the associated local benefits, or even increase emissions, while passing the burden of solving the problem to the developing world.
Industrialized nations are largely responsible for the climate crisis. We should take responsibility for reducing emissions at home first. The European Union has taken that position, and Canada must as well.
Huge Energy Appetite
No Leadership
International Laggard
Canada is one of the countries hit hardest by climate change. Yet our government is trying to undermine the effectiveness of the Kyoto Protocol.
Their strategies will not reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They will create more environmental disasters. And they certainly won't reduce smog and cut the use of fossil fuels, the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions. Canadians can reduce the fossil fuel we consume by boosting energy efficiency and using renewable energy. This will clean up air and water pollution and create new jobs in clean-energy technologies.
Canadians are the third highest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases. Despite our huge appetite for energy, Canadian governments have done virtually nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, our leaders have turned a blind eye as emissions continue to grow.
Canada's federal government committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2012 in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. But no concrete action has followed this commitment.
Worse still, Canada has joined the U.S., Japan, Australia and other high energy-consuming nations to push for unrestricted use of the Kyoto Protocol’s flexibility mechanisms. These measures allow industrialized nations to finance emissions reductions abroad to achieve "cost efficiencies."
Their true effectiveness would be difficult to verify, and would slow domestic reductions and the associated local benefits, or even increase emissions, while passing the burden of solving the problem to the developing world.
Industrialized nations are largely responsible for the climate crisis. We should take responsibility for reducing emissions at home first. The European Union has taken that position, and Canada must as well.Huge Energy Appetite
No Leadership
International Laggard
Canada is one of the countries hit hardest by climate change. Yet our government is trying to undermine the effectiveness of the Kyoto Protocol.
Their strategies will not reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They will create more environmental disasters. And they certainly won't reduce smog and cut the use of fossil fuels, the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions. Canadians can reduce the fossil fuel we consume by boosting energy efficiency and using renewable energy. This will clean up air and water pollution and create new jobs in clean-energy technologies.