From Al Reuters:
BONN, Germany (Reuters) – Canada defended its leadership of U.N. talks on fighting global warming on Monday, despite admitting it will not meet its own Kyoto Protocol goals.
Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, presiding at the opening of the May 15-26 Bonn meetings, suggested Kyoto should be eased for Canada from 2012 because Ottawa cannot reach its goals.
“The challenge we face in achieving the targets domestically has no relevance to our commitment to … ensure that we are contributing to the international effort to address climate change,” Ambrose said of Canada’s 2006 U.N. climate presidency.
So, let me get this straight: Canada, along with many other countries, made a committment to the Kyoto Protocal, spent much time slamming the USA and Bush for not signing Kyoto (though the initial decision to not become a signatory happened under Clinton), and now cannot meet its committments. AND they want their goals reduced!
Of course, all sorts of excuses are made. And, let’s not forget that the current Canadian government doesn’t particularly care for Kyoto. But, it is not like the new gov’t took office and all of a sudden everything went south with compliance. Though that is the way liberals think.
And, remember, other signatury countries have compliance problems, too.
Canada, like any true Liberal, lives by the motto “Do as I say, not as I do.”
Pay no attention to the hypocrisy behind the curtain….
Dateline: Kyoto, 2001: United States refuses to sign Kyoto accords because, in a nutshell, the accords require countries to guarantee compliance with standards many experts consider impossible and would carry opportunity costs (read: lost jobs and …
Two things to also remember: (1) This was first voted down during the Clinton years (1998). (2) The Second Bill was sponsored by McCain-Lieberman in 2003. That’s right, Republicans, McCain!
McCain really doesn’t have a shot in hell of getting the GOP nomination at this point, thankfully.
But Big Al Gore did symbolically sign Kyoto. (snicker)