CHANNELS
SERVICES
 
Spacer Homebase
Canadian parliament debates ratifying Kyoto pact
OTTAWA (AFP) Nov 26, 2002
Despite hours-long delaying tactics by two opposition party, the Canadian parliament started debate Monday on ratifying the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Using procedural tactics, two opposition parties in the House of Commons successfully delayed by some four hours a scheduled four-day debate on ratification of Kyoto, which will almost certainly end in a vote they will lose.

The Liberal government of Jean Chretien, who will be leaving office in February 2004, has promised to ratify the 1997 pact by year-end. It is virtually guaranteed to win its way with 169 of the 301-seat House of Commons.

The vote is expected by the end of the week.

Under Kyoto, Canada is committed to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by six percent by 2010 from 1990 levels.

Critics charge ratifying the 1997 pact will lead to thousands of job losses and a drop in economic growth because Canada's largest trading partner, the United States, has opted out of it, which, they say, will put Canadian industry at a disadvantage.

According to a study done for the Canadian government, under a worst-case scenario Kyoto could cost as many as 244,000 jobs over the next several years and hurt growth by 1.6 percent, or some 17.6 billion dollars (11.1 billion US dollars).

Business groups, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce say the pact will lead to a 2.5 percent drop in the GDP and trigger some 450,000 jobs losses.

In the shortened debate Monday, the right-wing and right-of-centre parties argued that Canada could not -- and should not -- ratify Kyoto until every Canadian knew what it would cost.

One after the other, the leaders of the right-of-centre Progressive Conservative Party and the right-wing populist Canadian Alliance raised points of procedure, which must be treated in preference to any motion on the table.

The Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives only hold 63 seats and 14 seats, respectively. Added to the Liberal government's already strong hand is stated support from two other left-of-centre parties.

Environment Minister David Anderson, presenting the government's defense, argued that this was a work-in-progress with only one certainty: that everyone knew that something had been done quickly to resolve the crisis of glob al warming.

"The unusual weather patterns of the past 20 decades are entirely consistent with the predictions of the meteorological climate research centres," he said.

Climate change, Anderson continued, meant that sub-Saharan African countries now expected to lose 40 percent of their staple food supplies before the end of the century and "the same is true for Asia."

However, despite the certainty of victory in the House of Commons, the debate is guaranteed to continue in Canada.

Under Canadian law, the federal government is responsible for ratifying -- or not -- international conventions such as Kyoto; however, provincial governments have the sole authority to regulate industry to force compliance with Kyoto.

Many of the premiers of Canada's 10 provinces have voiced strong opposition to ratifying the pact, including Alberta's Premier Ralph Klein who has introduced a challenge to its ratification in the western oil-rich province's legislature.

Since 1990, some provinces like Alberta and Ontario have continued to see their greenhouse gas emissions climb, while others like Quebec have contained them. They fear they will carry a heavier burden than other provinces.

All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Quick Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Nov 02, 2006
  • Discovery Rolls Toward Launch
  • A Mission To Mars Part Two
  • Chinese Lunar Orbiter Prototype On Display At Air Show
  • Shuttle Astronauts to Install Ball Aerospace Instruments Aboard Hubble Space Telescope
  • Mikulski Applauds Hubble Announcement, Says Decision Is Right For America
  • To The Dawn Of Space
  • Lost In Space No More
  • Oxygen Regeneration Restored At ISS
  • ISRO Moots Manned Mission To Space
  • Indigenous Cryogenic Stage Successfully Tested
  • LAUNCH Becomes First Magazine For Hobby Rocketry And Commercial Space Travel Enthusiasts
  • NASA Gives Hubble Telescope A New Lease On Life
  • Shape Of Things To Come-On The Moon
  • Iran To Step-Up Sensitive Nuclear Activities
  • North Korea To Rejoin Talks On Nuclear Program
  • China The Anti-Superpower Or The Second Hyperpower
  • Bush Says China Saving Too Much Money
  • Explosion Blows Out Window At Paypal In Silicon Valley
  • Arctic Snap Wreaks Havoc Across Nordic Region
  • Global Map Shows New Patterns Of Extinction Risk
  • Microbes Compete With Animals For Food By Making It Stink
  • More Species In The Tropics Because Life Has Been There Longer
  • Scientists Setting Dollar Value For Ecosystem
  • Czech Temelin Nuclear Reactor Hit By Fuel Problem
  • Most Lakes Across China Polluted Or Emptied Out By Humans
  • UK To Push India And EU Over Climate Change Response
  • White House Dismisses Chart Of Iraq Sliding Toward Chaos
  • Iraq Not Lost Yet
  • Red Cross Unveils Mass Southern Africa AIDS Project
  • China's Dirty Secret
  • SPACE.WIRE
    Bringing Space Home, When Your Mission Depends On It
    FREE SPACEDAILY NEWSLETTER
    SubscribeUnsubscribe
      






    The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2004 - SpaceDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement