Last month, Canada announced that it had decided to leave the Kyoto protocol. The move was made in a bid to avoid a heavy financial penalty for the country had it continued to abide by the protocol’s criteria. The move was also made out of frustration that an adequate replacement for the Kyoto protocol is yet to be reached and concerns that the existing framework will be limited without the cooperation of China and the USA.
Peter Kent, the Canadian Environment minister, said that Kyoto, which now covers less than 13 per cent of global emissions, “does not cover the world’s two largest emitters – the US and China” and would not work.
“It is now clear that Kyoto is not the path forward for a global solution to climate change; instead, it is an impediment.”
Mr Kent said that Canada would back the Durban initiative. “Our position has long been clear: we support a new international climate change agreement that includes commitments from all major emitters. That is the only way we are going to achieve real reductions and real results.”