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Indignation as Canada formally withdraws from the Kyoto Protocol

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Montreal and Durban, December 12, 2011 - Equiterre reacts with indignation to the announcement by the Environment Minister that Canada is pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, making clear the federal government's disregard for the fight against climate change and lack of concern for those affected by its impacts at home and abroad.  

Under the agreement, Canada would have to buy offset credits for its unmet reduction targets - targets that it has done little to meet - a cost that Minister Kent would rather avoid. "But the cost of respecting the Kyoto Protocol is small compared with the costs of climate change, which the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy estimate at $21 to $43 billion per year in the 2050s. Our government prefers to think short term with heavy subsidies to the tar sands industries to the tune of more than a billion dollars a year," says Steven Guilbeault, deputy executive director of Equiterre.

"The real penalty for Canada will be the damage to our international reputation. When we abandon our international obligations, other countries will naturally question how reliable we are," explains Sidney Ribaux, executive director of Equiterre.

Canada could face other fallout as well. Our economic partners with stricter environmental regulations, e.g., a carbon tax or a carbon market, may decide to tax products from countries with lower environmental standards. This could, for example, negatively affect Quebec imports to Europe if Canada doesn't implement climate regulations on par with those in the E.U. 

"The government of Canada is missing a chance to develop the green economy by refusing to take steps to reduce its emissions. The money that goes from the federal treasury to the oil companies is money that could be going to our green sector, which has been showing such promise, especially in Ontario and Quebec. These are missed opportunities," says Sidney Ribaux. 

"It's heartbreaking to see the bad faith with which the Conservative government has participated in recent international climate talks, always aiming to derail a renewed Kyoto Protocol," laments Steven Guilbeault. "And by pulling out of Kyoto, the Harper government is breaking Canadian law."

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Source:
Émilie Vallières
Equiterre
514-605-2000