Ottawa attacked unveiling plans on Kyoto targets
Date: 25-Oct-02
Country: CANADA
Author: David Ljunggren
Ottawa is in considerable disarray over Kyoto, which would oblige the country to cut emissions of carbon dioxide by six percent from 1990 levels by 2012. Emissions levels by 2010 are in fact predicted to be 33 percent above the 1990 level.
The government has yet to ratify the Kyoto protocol and resistance to the idea is rapidly building among the country's more powerful provinces, especially energy-rich Alberta, which is calling for a gentler "Made in Canada" solution.
Environmentalists and a majority of Canadians continue to support the accord, especially as the northern country suffers record high temperatures and droughts, which many link to global warming.
Ottawa released figures earlier this month which showed the cost of fully implementing Kyoto - which would mean cutting carbon dioxide emissions by some 240 megatonnes by 2012 - could be 240,000 jobs and C$21 billion a year.
To make matters worse, officials say there are deep splits between Environment Minister David Anderson and Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal - the two men charged with selling the government's plans to Canadians.
The proposals released yesterday will be discussed at a special meeting of federal and provincial energy and environment ministers in Halifax on Monday.
According to the package, Ottawa considers steps taken to date have already cut emissions by 80 megatonnes. A further 100 megatonnes would be accounted for by persuading Canadians to cut their use of energy and by cutting industrial emissions.
But this leaves 60 megatonnes to be cut and Ottawa was much vaguer as to how this could be achieved, saying merely that it could among other options introduce legislation obliging car manufacturers to improve new vehicle fuel efficiency.
Stephen Harper, leader of the official opposition Canadian Alliance, described the proposals as "woefully incomplete" and pointed out that they were largely uncosted.
"The biggest deficiency in the document we have today - it's so glaring it's embarrassing - is that there is simply no costing whatsoever," he told a parliamentary debate on Kyoto.
"It is our conviction...that we cannot, in a cost-effective and economically sustainable way, make the entire reductions that Canada is allotted under the Kyoto accord," he said.
The government has said it would account for 70 megatonnes by getting credit for exporting clean energy such as natural gas but the Kyoto protocol makes no provisions for this and the European Union is implacably opposed to the idea.
Earlier this months officials from Canada's oil, power and pipeline industries met with Ottawa's point man on ratification, but left the meeting saying they gained little confidence their businesses would not be harmed.
Several major companies are working on projects aimed at doubling within 10 years output of synthetic crude wrung from Alberta's vast oil sands, and some say they may scale back investments over Kyoto.
Alberta premier Ralph Klein hates the idea of Kyoto ratification and is touring the country to make his views known. The premier of Ontario, Canada's most powerful province, is also doubtful.
Greenpeace welcomed the government's plans, saying it was an important step on the road of ratification.
"Now the onus is on the provinces and industry to stop griping, roll up their sleeves and get to work," said Steven Guilbeault of Greenpeace.