Under the United Nations, the world is now negotiating what will become the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, with an agreement to be finalized by December 2009. The main issues still to be decided upon include:
What emission-reductions targets will industrialized countries commit to in the next period after 2012?
What actions will developing countries commit to that will lower their emissions trajectory?
What financial and technological assistance will industrialized countries provide to developing countries to assist them in adapting to climate changes, reducing emissions, and reducing tropical deforestation?
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in 1992, called on industrialized countries to take the lead in reducing their emissions that cause climate change, since they have the greatest historical responsibility for creating the problem, and they have much greater financial and technical resources to put toward the effort. Though most industrialized countries will meet their targets under the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol, their collective emissions have so far only decreased by about five per cent compared to 1990 levels.
Industrialized countries will need to reduce emissions much further if they are to take full responsibility for their obligations in avoiding dangerous levels of climate change. In fact, the best science indicates that Canada and other industrialized countries will have to collectively reduce emissions by 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. At the UN meeting in Bali in December 2007, all nation members of the Kyoto Protocol agreed to that range of emission reductions.
Developing countries have also agreed to take actions to curb their emissions, though hard targets in the next phase of Kyoto would not be realistic or fair, especially when emissions continue to rise in some wealthy countries such as Canada. They will also have some difficult challenges in adapting to climate changes that have already begun. Industrialized countries should provide financial and technological assistance to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate changes. Some, like Norway, Japan, and the U.S., have already made pledges of hundreds of millions of dollars each.
Questions to ask your candidate: 1: Will your party support Canada signing on to the range of emission reductions (25 to 40 per cent reductions below 1990 by 2020) currently being discussed at the UN for the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol?
2: Will your party support Canada providing greatly scaled up financial and technological support to developing countries to help them adapt to climate change and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions below business-as-usual projections?