In the Media
Canada to withdraw from Kyoto Protocol
December 13, 2011
BBC
Canada will formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the minister of the environment has said. Peter Kent said the protocol “does not represent a way forward for Canada” and the country would face crippling fines for failing to meet its targets.
The move, which is legal and was expected, makes it the first nation to pull out of the global treaty. He said the cost of meeting Canada’s obligations under Kyoto would cost $13.6bn (10.3bn euros; £8.7bn): “That’s $1,600 from every Canadian family – that’s the Kyoto cost to Canadians that was the legacy of an incompetent Liberal government”. He said that despite this cost, greenhouse emissions would continue to rise as two of the world’s largest polluters – the US and China – were not covered by the Kyoto agreement.
Canada’s previous Liberal government signed the accord but Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government never embraced it.
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Keywords: Canada, CDM, Kyoto, Kyoto Protocol, North America