加拿大宣佈將正式退出《京都議定書》大綱
Canada will pull out of the Kyoto protocol on climate change, Environment Minister Peter Kent said on Monday, dealing a symbolic blow to the troubled global treaty.
Canada will become the first country to formally withdraw from Kyoto, which it says is badly flawed because it does not cover all major emitters of greenhouse gasses.
The news came as little surprise, especially since Kent said last month that "Kyoto is the past." The right-of-center Conservatives took power in 2006 and made it clear they would not stick to Canada's Kyoto commitments.
"As we've said, Kyoto for Canada is in the past ... We are invoking our legal right to formally withdraw from Kyoto," Kent told reporters after returning from talks in Durban, South Africa, on extending the protocol.
He gave no details on when exactly Ottawa would pull out, but said Canada would be subject to enormous financial penalties under the terms of the treaty unless it withdrew.
The announcement will do little to help Canada's growing reputation as an international renegade on the climate. Green groups awarded the country their Fossil of the Year award for its performance in Durban.
Ottawa says it backs a new global deal to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, but insists it has to cover all nations.
Canada's former Liberal government signed on to Kyoto, which obliged the country to cut emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. By 2009 emissions were 17 percent above the 1990 levels.
Kent says the Liberals should not have signed up to a treaty they had no intention of respecting.
Environmentalists quickly blasted Kent for his comments.
"Mr Kent does not understand what he is sentencing our children to. Catastrophic climate change will cost them far more," said John Bennett, executive director of the Sierra Club Canada.加拿大環境部長彼得•肯特本週一宣佈，加拿大將退出有關氣候變化的《京都議定書》，這對目前麻煩不斷的這一全球條約來說無疑是沉重打擊。
加拿大將成爲首個正式退出《京都議定書》的國家，並稱該條約有嚴重漏洞，並未覆蓋全部的溫室氣體排放大國。
加拿大的退出在人們的預料之中，特別是自上月肯特說出“《京都議定書》對加拿大而言已經成爲過去”之後。中間偏右的加拿大保守黨自2006年上臺後，明確表態不會遵守加拿大對於《京都議定書》所作的承諾。
肯特從南非德班的氣候會議返回後告訴記者：“《京都議定書》對加拿大而言已經成爲過去，我們將行使我們的合法權利正式退出。”南非德班氣候會議旨在延長《京都議定書》的承諾期。
肯特沒有給出加拿大退出的準確時間，但表示如果不退出，按照目前的協議條款，加拿大將面臨鉅額罰款。
加拿大在氣候保護方面的“國際叛徒”的名氣越來越大，而肯特的表態更惡化了這一形象。由於在德班的表現，加拿大還獲評環保組織評選的“年度頑固不化獎”。
加拿大表示支持新的溫室氣體減排條約，但堅稱這一條約必須覆蓋全部國家。
此前，加拿大自由黨政府簽署加入《京都議定書》，承諾截至2012年，在1990年的基礎上減排6%。但截至2009年，加拿大的溫室氣體排放仍然比1990年高出17%。
肯特表示，自由黨本就不該簽署一份自己都不重視的條約。
環保人士迅速對肯特的評論予以抨擊。
加拿大塞拉俱樂部的常務董事約翰•本奈特說：“肯特先生不明白他給我們的孩子宣判了什麼。災難性的氣候變化會讓他們付出更慘重的代價。”
