Why Was the Kyoto Protocol a Failure for Canada

Kent argued that “the Kyoto Protocol does not cover the world`s two largest emitters, the United States and China, and therefore cannot function.” In 2010, Canada, Japan and Russia declared that they would not accept new Kyoto commitments. Canada is the only country that rejects Kyoto. Kent argued that since Canada could not meet the targets, it had to avoid fines of $14 billion for failing to meet its targets. [10] This decision has generated wide international attention. [11] Finally, the cost of compliance has been estimated at 20 times. [12] Countries for which emissions are not covered by the Kyoto Protocol (the United States and China) have the largest emissions and are responsible for 41% of the Kyoto Protocol. China`s emissions increased by more than 200% between 1990 and 2009. [13] Canadian Council of Chief Executives[Notes 3] Vice-President John Dillon argued that a further Kyoto extension would not be effective because many countries, not just Canada, were not on track to meet their 1997 Kyoto emission reduction commitments. [14] “The Kyoto Protocol does not cover the world`s two largest emitters, the United States and China, and therefore cannot function,” Kent said. “It is now clear that Kyoto is not the way to a global solution to climate change.

On the contrary, it is an obstacle. Environment Minister Peter Kent said there was no point in Canada staying in the agreement because the protocol did not include China and the United States, the world`s two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, so it would not be effective in addressing climate change. He also said failure to meet the targets would have cost Canada $14 billion in fines. Canada withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, a day after an update was agreed, and said the agreement would not work. In announcing the decision, government officials noted that the possibility of hefty fines for Canada`s non-compliance with emissions targets also played a role. In December, the United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place in Copenhagen. The aim is to create a new international climate protection agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. As Canada prepares to begin negotiations on a new deal, it is crucial to examine the factors that made Kyoto a failure in that country. By learning from the past, Canada can push for a more streamlined system for controlling greenhouse gas emissions that avoids the structural shortcomings that doomed the Kyoto Treaty to failure. Given the seriousness of the threat posed by global warming and the imminent threat posed by Canada`s failure to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020, it is essential that the courts be called upon to force Canada to set and meet GHG reduction targets consistent with the IPCC. In any future process of judicial review, the executive branch would find it difficult to argue that achieving the IPCC`s goals would slow down the economy: the scientific consensus suggests that the economy will collapse with environmental degradation and that a transition to a more sustainable society will actually revive it.

Although the Protocol was adopted in 1997, it did not enter into force until 2005. Over the past eight years, countries have set reduction targets and ratified the agreement. Many Canadians were angered by the withdrawal, blaming the Conservative government for abandoning nations` responsibility to the planet. Green Party leader Elizabeth May told The Globe and Mail that the withdrawal of the protocol is “not only important, but also catastrophic for Canada.” The protocol, originally adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, aims to combat global warming. Canada`s previous Liberal government signed the agreement, but did little to implement it, and the Conservative government of current Prime Minister Stephen Harper never adopted it. Canada`s failure to achieve the goals deemed necessary to avert a global catastrophe is extremely daunting, but could it also break the law? A recent international victory in climate processes raises this interesting possibility. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries have agreed on an agreement that will put the world on track to sign a new climate agreement by 2015 to replace the first Kyoto Protocol, whose current provisions expire next year. While the Liberals and Conservatives are widely blamed for Canada`s failure to meet its targets and stay in Kyoto, the problem of climate change remains a growing threat. In particular, the most telling indicator of Canada`s record in this area is greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product.

This indicator compares the total amount of economic activity that takes place during a given period with the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted during that period. .