Canada to dump Kyoto even if the Chinese get on board

Dec 5, 2011, 19:44 GMT

Montreal - Canada will withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol by the end of next year, even if China commits to capping its emissions by 2020, Environment Minister Peter Kent said Monday.

Speaking to reporters via teleconference call from Durban, Kent sai that even though Canada was encouraged by the news that the world's largest emitter was open to accepting a binding target to slash its greenhouse gases, Ottawa will not make a second commitment to Kyoto.

'We haven't seen any detail yet. We look forward to China bringing its proposal to the conference,' Kent said. 'But with regards to whether or not that would affect Canada's decision to not take on a second commitment period, that would not change our position.'

Canada signed on to the Kyoto accords in 1998 under then-prime minister Jean Chretien. But Liberals under Chretien and then Paul Martin took little action to meet Canada's targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Conservatives under prime minister Stephen Harper also ignored Kyoto after they came to power in 2006.

The Kyoto accord requires countries to make strict cuts to their greenhouse gas emissions, but the Tories say making those reductions would hurt Canada's economy, which is heavily dependent on resource extraction, particularly Alberta's oil sands.

The world's biggest polluters - the United States, China and India - are not part of Kyoto and the Conservatives argue that any agreement that does not include the major emitters is meaningless.

Canada has been advocating for a single agreement to replace Kyoto that would include all countries.