Canada pulls the plug on the Kyoto Protocol

COP 17 was seen as the last chance to save the Kyoto Protocol due to expire at the end of 2012, which is the only legally binding agreement to cut emissions. The protocol was adopted in 1997 and ratified by 191 countries and came into force in 2005. Under the protocol 37 developed nations known in the protocol as Annex 1 countries commit to cut emissions by an aggregate minimum 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

There are number of developed countries that have been working towards having the Kyoto Protocol abandoned, calling instead for a new deal put in place. Immediately after COP17 concluded Canada, one of several developed countries that has largely disregarded its Kyoto commitments, became the first country to formally back out of the climate treaty.

Making the announcement, Canada's environmental minister Peter Kent said that in order to meet its obligation under the protocol Canada would have to close down its agriculture sector and cut heat to every home, building and factory or take "every car, truck, ATV, tractor, ambulance, police car" off its roads. Failing this, Canada would have to pay $14 billion in penalties for not meeting its emission target under the protocol.

These scenarios have little to do with the real reasons for Canada pulling out of Kyoto that Kent fails to mention which mainly relate to Canada's economic ties to the US. The US has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol since its inception on the grounds that it does bind other major emitters, including China to legally binding limits. The conservative Canadian government that came into power in 2006 has continued to claim that it cannot move faster or further than its major trading partner on climate change.

With the refusal of the US to be part of the Kyoto treaty, industry groups in Canada have argued for years against plans to cut emissions on the basis that this would give US competitors an unfair advantage. Canada is the largest supplier of oil and gas to the US, accounting for 75 percent of Canada oil and gas exports. In 2002, Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers argued against ratifying Kyoto saying it would cut gross domestic product by up to 2.5 percent by 2010.

But by far the greatest reason for Canada's backtrack on Kyoto is its thuggish transformation to a petro state. Canada is exploiting the world's second largest reserve of oil known as the tar sands. The tar sands occur in an area the size of England which lies under the surface of pristine forests and marshes that is being destroyed for the largest opencast mining operation in the world. Refining tar sands requires two to three times as much energy as refining crude oil and these refinery operations are the largest source of emissions in Canada. The refining process consumes vast quantities of water with three barrels of water required to produce one barrel of oil. It creates toxic contaminated water stored in tailing dams that leak poisons into the rivers causing environmental damage and disease downstream. 

A statement made ahead of COP 17 by Canadian civil society and endorsed by a number of trade unions including IMF affiliate, the Canadian Auto Workers Union, decries their government's inaction on climate change and links this to its oil lust. It states "The federal government has failed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, in spite of our international commitments and the federal government's own inadequate targets. The unsustainable pace of development of the tar sands will increase Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by up to 100 MT or more in this decade. This disturbing pattern of inaction and attempts to undermine climate change policy by the current Canadian federal government, coupled with a staunch defence of Canada's fossil fuel industry shows that this government has lost its moral compass."

The statement also notes "Instead of positive efforts to confront the crisis in an equitable and morally acceptable way, we have witnessed Canadian government inaction and attempts to undermine climate change policy... Canada has a track record of acting more in the interests of big oil companies than Canadians at UN climate negotiations."

Canada has developed a reputation as a climate renegade. At the 2009 Bangkok Climate Change Talks, the South African delegation led a walk out by the group of 77 developing nations, with the exception of a group of small island states, during a presentation by the Canadian delegation. The presentation called for the Kyoto Protocol to be abandoned and suggesting it be replaced by a new pact.  Whilst Canada was not the only country that pushed for Kyoto commitments to cease at COP 15 in Copenhagen later that year, it is attributed as being a major instigator for the call which led to a walk out by most developing nations leading to the collapse of the talks. Then at COP 16 in Cancun, Canada was named by the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, as one of three along with Russia and Japan, blocking the second round of emission reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

African civil society and labour stepped up the pressure on Canada at COP17. The General Secretary Congress of South African Trade Unions, Zwelizima Vavi joined other African civil society leaders, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in signing a petition against Canada. The petition was published as an advertisement in the daily newsletter at the conference. The text of the petition states "Canada, you were once considered a leader on global issues like human rights and environmental protection. Today you're home to polluting tar sands oil, speeding the dangerous effects of climate change. For us in Africa, climate change is a life and death issue... Now is the time for Canada to tackle climate change, which will impact millions of people, instead of supporting multinational oil companies."

Canada was considered the least popular nation at Cop 17. During a plenary discussion, it is reported that Kent could barely be heard above the applause when the Canadian youth delegation wearing T shirts that read 'turn your back on Canada' stood up and turned their backs on him. The stunt cost them their conference credentials but kept attention on Canada's obstructive position.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) led a delegation of Canadian trade union representatives at COP 17 to lobby their government "for an ambitious commitment and credible plan for Canada to reduce its greenhouse gas pollution as part of a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol". The CLC calls Canada's decision to formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, "an international embarrassment that tarnishes Canada's international reputation. The national centre goes on to say that it is an example of the Canadian governments, "support for short-term oil company profits over the long-term employment, economic and social justice needs of Canadians".

There is still a real threat to the Kyoto Protocol as there was only political agreement to extend the treaty. Emission targets for the second commitment period still need to be worked out and a formal amendment adopted. Canada's formal withdrawal from its commitments destabilises future action on global warming and puts the hard work needed to have a more ambitious second period in jeopardy. It also undermines the very notion of the workability of a binding treaty. In fact, it could still lead to Kyoto being abandoned completely. Countries can now say, as Kent has said, that Kyoto "is in the past" and the Durban Platform is "the way forward" leaving the world with almost a decade of no binding commitment to reduce emissions.  Indeed it is a pity that developed nations such as Canada place such a strong value on financial debt owed by the south to the north and yet refuse to acknowledge the bourgeoning ecological debt already created by this growing reliance on fossil fuels.

The Durban Platform can potentially allow countries to escape its commitments under Kyoto whilst still holding claim to be addressing climate change through the Durban Platform.  But the Durban Platform is nothing more than an agreement to formulate an agreement on climate change by 2015 that will be enforced from 2020. Its greatest victory is that it commits countries including the US and emerging nations, most notably India and China, to negotiate an agreement for the post 2020 period.

Critics have warned that the Durban Platform agreement for an agreement is far weaker than the agreement that lead to the Kyoto Protocol as it does not specify that the new agreement will put in place emissions limitations and it is not clear on how legally binding this new agreement will be. But as UK journalist Adam Vaughan points out, what "Canada has shown is that a legally binding deal does not guarantee countries won't walk away from their commitments".