OTTAWA — The Pembina Institute celebrates the agreement reached this morning at international climate change negotiations in Bonn, Germany, opening the door to swift entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol. The Institute also strongly welcomes statements by the Prime Minister and others indicating that Canada hopes to ratify the Protocol in 2002 (1), as well as the Deputy Prime Minister's statement that Canada will ratify without the United States (2).
"This is a historic day for the environment and for Canada's participation in global co-operation to fight climate change," said Robert Hornung, Policy Director of the Pembina Institute. "Agreement in Bonn represents a small but critically important first step in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
The Pembina Institute will now focus on the need for the federal government to quickly ratify the Kyoto Protocol and for federal and provincial governments to implement a package of measures capable of taking Canada to its Kyoto target.
"The federal government must now clearly state its commitment to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2002 at the latest and not just that it hopes it will be able to do so," said Dr. Matthew Bramley, Director, Climate Change at the Institute. "Canada is part of the agreement in Bonn and there should be no obstacles to rapid ratification."
In Bonn, Canada succeeded in weakening its commitment by securing generous provisions that allow it to meet 25% of its target through "carbon sinks" — forestry and agricultural activities that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On other issues, however, Canada played a very positive role. This is particularly true with respect to securing agreement on funding to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change.
"The Kyoto Protocol provides Canadian firms with tremendous economic opportunities to develop and implement the energy efficient and renewable energy technologies associated with a low greenhouse gas future," said Dr. Bramley. "At the same time, the Bonn agreement will clearly require federal and provincial governments to seriously question the economic and environmental wisdom of new investments in coal-fired electricity plants or new petroleum production off-shore, in the Arctic, or in the Alberta oilsands."
Although the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in December 1997, it can enter into legal force only when it has been ratified by 55 countries with at least 55% of industrialized-world carbon dioxide emissions in 1990. The Bonn compromise ends over three years of negotiation on the political issues associated with the operational rules required to implement the Protocol.
For more information contact:
Dr. Matthew Bramley
Director, Climate Change Program, Pembina Institute
Office: 613-235-6288 ext.26
Email: matthewb@pembina.org