Canada: out of Kyoto Protocol
NEW: a number of sources consistently report that also Russia and Japan are about to resign from the Kyoto Protocol.
This morning it became true that Canada is the first signatory state to resign from the Kyoto Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The quoted reason is that, according to Canada, the Kyoto Protocol does not work and has failed its goals. The key motivation however might be that the major greenhouse gas emitters (the USA and China) never signed the Kyoto Protocol and, secondly, that Canada would have to pay a fine about of several billions dollar due to unmatched reduction goals. As Canada is a major industrialized country and, in contrast to other industry nations, seems to be much less affected by the current finance and state debt crisis, it is assumed to be most likely that a number of other countries will follow this step. Accordingly, a follow-up greenhouse gas protocol will have to be either very different from the Kyoto Protocol or it will rarely be signed by any state.
This morning it became true that Canada is the first signatory state to resign from the Kyoto Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The quoted reason is that, according to Canada, the Kyoto Protocol does not work and has failed its goals. The key motivation however might be that the major greenhouse gas emitters (the USA and China) never signed the Kyoto Protocol and, secondly, that Canada would have to pay a fine about of several billions dollar due to unmatched reduction goals. As Canada is a major industrialized country and, in contrast to other industry nations, seems to be much less affected by the current finance and state debt crisis, it is assumed to be most likely that a number of other countries will follow this step. Accordingly, a follow-up greenhouse gas protocol will have to be either very different from the Kyoto Protocol or it will rarely be signed by any state.
The withdrawal of Canada and the anticipated follow-up effects will certainly also affect measures to step forward towards the sustainable management of natural resources in general. Climate change was and is just one singular issue, water management, resource management in general are other equally important issues. Ongoing debates clearly demonstrate that there exists a strong pressure to address these issues; the awareness of severe implications are to obvious.
