Canada Cuts Kyoto Funding

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Canada Cuts Kyoto Funding

 

September 15, 2006 — By the GLOBE Foundation of Canada

OTTAWA, Canada — The Government of Canada has pulled back from a $1.5 million

pledge to the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat to support the Clean

Development Mechanism (CDM). Canada’s contribution towards the administration

of the scheme was to have been the largest of any country.

 

The CDM is a system that allows industrialized nations to earn greenhouse gas

emissions credits by investing in projects that reduce emissions in developing

countries. Industrialized countries can then apply those credits in order to

meet emissions targets set under the Kyoto Protocol.

 

The general principle is that emissions reductions are cheaper and easier to

achieve in developing countries, where simple investments in energy efficiency

or alternative energy technology can yield large cuts.

 

The CDM is recognition of the growing importance of developing nations such as

India and China in the fight against climate change.

 

A major criticism of the Kyoto Protocol is that it doesn’t include hard

targets for developing countries, making cuts made my richer countries less

effective. While the CDM does not address this directly, it does go a long way

to promoting new technologies and efficiencies in developing countries.

 

There were around 800 projects in the CDM pipeline as of this June, and the

United Nations predicts that it will generate more than one billion tons of

emissions reductions before the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol expires after

2012.

 

Canada promised the funding at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in

December 2005 in Montreal, as one of 20 nations which agreed to contribute more

than $8 million for the CDM.

 

However, the current federal government has shown less support for Kyoto than

its predecessor. Environment Minister Rona Ambrose has declared that Canada is

unable to meet its commitment to reduce emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels

before 2013. However, she maintains that Canada is still very much involved in

international climate change negotiations.

 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised a ‘Made in Canada’ solution to

climate change which will promote Canadian technology solutions to achieve

emissions cuts and not spend on purchasing credits elsewhere. However, the Prime

Minister was among the leaders at the G8 Summit in Moscow this July who endorsed

a statement supporting the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism.

 

Some have voiced concern about the latest withdrawal of support for Kyoto by

Canada, as the future of international climate change negotiations seems more

uncertain than ever.

 

Rescinding the CDM funding is seen by some as another sign that Canada is

attempting to distance itself from Kyoto, preferring an alternative approach to

reducing GHG emissions.

 

Canada may now become more closely aligned with the United States and Australia,

who have formed the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate

along with Japan, China, India, and South Korea. The pact focuses on voluntary,

industry-led task forces on the development and deployment of clean energy

solutions, and is billed as a ‘supplementary’ approach to Kyoto. See

GLOBE-Net article: Canada looking at six-nation climate change pact

 

However Canada chooses to tackle climate change, the proof will be in the

long-term, tangible results it delivers. Should the upcoming federal

environmental plan include strong measures to support clean technology and

industry action to reduce emissions, Canada can confidently sit at the table in

future Kyoto Protocol negotiations.

 

The federal government must now make sure that it follows through with a

workable plan that can help Canadians make the emissions cuts that are needed,

while creating economic growth through the development of environmental

technologies and expanding market opportunities.

 

Contact Info: Dr. John Wiebe, President and CEO

The GLOBE Foundation of Canada

Tel : 604.775.5822

 

 

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