There were only a few Canadian flags at the Durban climate talks, but they weren’t flying high; they were pinned to a wall of shame.
And when Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent sounded the death knell for Canada’s Kyoto Protocol commitment, Canadian delegates were at loss to make sense of the federal government’s thinking.
Kent, who addressed a large gathering during a high-level session of the UN negotiations, said the agreement covered fewer than 30% of global emissions – by some estimates 15% and even less.
“It is an approach that does not lead to more comprehensive engagement of key parties who need to be actively a part of a global agreement,” he said. “It’s for all these reasons that we have long said that we will not take on a second commitment under the Kyoto Protocol.”
He added that Canada won’t discourage those that do, but “Kyoto, for Canada, is in the past.”
The government’s stance prompted a silent protest by six Canadian activists during Kent’s speech – and criticism from one academic.
“Digging in your heels and being ideological and not being willing to negotiate, to listen, to compromise is no way to run a country,” said University of British Columbia professor of social work Dr. Frank Tester, who accompanied some Inuit youth to the conference. “Canada’s position here is really, really disappointing. In terms of Canadian foreign policy and diplomacy, it’s the road to the bottom.”
Canada has stopped being a facilitator, negotiator and innovator, Tester said in an interview. “We’ve become simply dogmatic … and we’re not participating.”
The government, he warned, was inviting a lot of controversy and conflict.
“I teach at a university and I am also involved with other universities across the country and I see the rise of a new generation of social activism around this kind of issue which we haven’t seen for decades. We’ve already seen it with the proposal to pipe tarsands oil to the United States.”
Kent, who was too busy for an interview, said in his speech that Canada is making “great progress” toward its ambitious targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17% over 2005 levels by 2020.
“This is the target that is aligned with the United States, our closest neighbour and most important trading partner.”
Kent added that Canada is also helping developing countries do their share.
“We’re working with them on clean-technology projects and adaptation strategies with $1.2 billion in fast-start financing,” Kent said. “We also support the Green Climate Fund as part of the broader package of an international solution.” •
