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Canada and the Kyoto Protocol

Map of Canada showing the increases in annual GHG emissions by province/territory as of 2008, compared to the 1990 base year
  50%+ increase
  30%–50% increase
  20%–30% increase
  10%–20% increase
  0%–10% increase
  0%–10% decrease
  Each square represents 2 tonnes CO
2 eq. per capita

Canada was active in the negotiations that led to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.[1] The Liberal government that signed the accord in 1997 ratified it in parliament in 2002.[2] Canada's Kyoto target was a 6% total reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2012, compared to 1990 levels of 461 megatonnes (Mt) (Government of Canada (GC) 1994).[3][notes 1] Despite signing the accord, greenhouse gas emissions increased approximately 24.1% between 1990 and 2008.[4] In 2011, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper withdrew Canada from the Kyoto Protocol.

Debates surrounding the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in Canada is influenced by the nature of relationships between national, provincial, territorial and municipal jurisdictions. The federal government can negotiate multilateral agreements and enact legislation to respect their terms. However, the provinces have jurisdiction in terms of energy and therefore, to a large extent, climate change. In 1980, when the National Energy Program was introduced, the country was almost torn apart, deeply dividing the provinces along an east–west axis. Since then, no federal government has implemented an intergovernmental, long-term, cohesive energy plan.[5]

  1. ^ UNFCCC (1997). "Kyoto Accord" (.php). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
  2. ^ "Kyoto ratification 'important for future generations'". CBC News. December 16, 2002. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  3. ^ Palombi, Laura (March 11, 2009). "Canada's Kyoto Woes". Biofuels and Bio-Based Carbon Mitigation. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  4. ^ UNFCCC (April 21, 2011). Report of the individual review of the annual submission of Canada submitted in 2010 (PDF) (Report). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  5. ^ Flannery, Tim (November 22, 2009). "Why Canada failed in Kyoto and how to make amends". The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 20, 2011.


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