DURBAN, South Africa — The Canadian government has left a historic climate change summit that salvaged the Kyoto Protocol, warning that it will drive a hard bargain to establish new international laws, or their equivalent, to slash all major global sources of heat-trapping pollution.The 195 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change finished a record breaking, marathon session that finished two days behind schedule, charting a course towards a new regime to be finalized by 2015 in an effort to stave off dangerous human interference with the atmosphere.
"Although these negotiations will be difficult, we are cautiously optimistic that we will reach a new agreement by 2015," said Environment Minister Peter Kent.
The Kyoto agreement, signed and ratified by virtually all of the countries, apart from the United States, in 1997, will be extended, without participation from Canada, Russia and Japan who all said they wanted the other large emitting countries, including China and India, to take on their own commitments.
"We want to avoid another Kyoto-like pact at all costs," said Kent. "Kyoto was not effective and was not good for Canada. The previous government should not have ratified it."
Although countries agreed on terms to create a new global green climate fund to support efforts in developing countries to adapt to climate change and promote clean energy growth, Kent said Canada wasn’t willing to take part in the project just yet.
"Canada has been clear that we would not undertake a second Kyoto commitment period. Nor will we devote scarce dollars to capitalize the new Green Climate Fund — part of the Durban agreement — until all major emitters accept legally binding reduction targets and transparent accounting of greenhouse gas inventory,” he said.
The marathon session was supposed to wrap up on Friday, but instead ended Sunday morning, becoming the longest UN climate summit in 20 years.
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Source: Montreal Gazette
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