Canada is being sued for failing to meet its obligation to reduce greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol.
The lawsuit, filed by Friends of the Earth Canada, is the first ever to
seek enforcement of the Kyoto protocol, which 180 nations, including
Canada, ratified.
Of the 38 industrialized nations with binding targets for
emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol, Canada is the only one
that has said that it wil not meet its obligations.
The lawsuit is suing the conservative government of Prime
Minister Stephen Harper in an effort to force it to adopt a new plan to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions 6% below 1990 levles.
"The case is about defending the fundamental principle that the
government must be accountable and comply with the law," Ecojustice
lawyer Hugh Wilkins said. "The government cannot pick and choose which
laws to obey. The law is the law.
The Kyoto Protocol was ratified under the Liberal government of
previous Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Since Harper took
office in 2006, the nation has taken a different tack on emissions
reductions, announcing much softer targets and failing to produce a
climate change plan, as directed by the Kyoto Protocol Implementation
Act, passed in June 2007.
A Canadian federal court is expected to rule on the case later this summer or in the fall.
Canada’s opposition Liberal Party unveiled a carbon-tax plan last week, which they hope will be the key to returning their party to power in upcoming elections.
Tar sand projects,
primarily in the province of Alberta, are largely responsible for
increasing emissions levels, as the escalating price of oil has made it
more cost effective to begin removal of extremely dirty oil deposits
mixed with sand in the region.
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