Today a majority of Parliament is expected to say YES to Kyoto and a plan to get there. The Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act (C-288), a private member's bill tabled by MP Pablo Rodriguez, comes up for its final House of Commons vote tonight.
The Climate Action Network-Reseau action climat (CAN-RAC) is celebrating the vote and looking forward to working with all parliamentarians and Canadians to implement Kyoto and meet our obligation to the international community.
Canada can meet its Kyoto target if the federal government combines immediate, strong action to begin cutting emissions at home with investments in certified emission-reduction projects in poorer countries. Greenhouse gas reductions are equally effective in protecting Canada from climate change wherever in the world those reductions occur.
"We can keep our Kyoto promise if we act now," said John Bennett, Executive Director, CAN-RAC. "We call on the Prime Minister to align himself with the majority of Members of Parliament and the vast majority of Canadians who support Kyoto."
Having ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, Canada is already obligated to reach its Kyoto emissions target under international law. If passed, C-288 reaffirms the Kyoto obligations into domestic law and creates a binding legal requirement on the government to:
- produce a credible plan to reach Canada's Kyoto target
- implement that plan through regulations or other measures.
"Canada urgently needs to implement a comprehensive, credible plan that cuts greenhouse gas pollution from all parts of the economy. This is exactly what Bill C-288 would require," said the Pembina Institute's Matthew Bramley.
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Backgrounder: Bill C-288 and Kyoto
On February 14, Parliament will hold its final vote on Bill C-288 (An Act to ensure that Canada meets its global climate change obligations under the Kyoto Protocol), a private member's bill sponsored by Montreal MP Pablo Rodriguez. The three opposition parties were unanimous in their support of the bill at its second reading vote on Oct. 4, with the result that C-288 passed that vote with 152 votes in favour and 115 against. If tonight's third reading vote is successful, the bill will move on to the Senate for consideration en route to becoming law.
The Bill's purpose is "to ensure that Canada takes effective and timely action under the Kyoto Protocol and help address the problem of global climate change."
Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol after a majority vote in the House of Commons in 2002. The Protocol came into force on February 16, 2005, after Russia ratified the international climate change agreement. At that point, Canada's Kyoto Protocol target became a binding obligation under international law. If passed, Bill C-288 would translate that obligation into Canada's domestic law.
Within 60 days of C-288 coming into force, the government would be required to publish a climate change plan that reaches Canada's Kyoto target. The plan must list the measures that Canada will take to reach the target - which can include regulations, spending, performance standards, co-operative measures with provinces, and so on - and an estimate of the quantity of greenhouse gas reductions that each measure will produce. This plan would be audited by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy to ensure that its provisions are credible.
C-288 also compels the government to make regulations to meet Canada's Kyoto target within 180 days after the Act comes into force. C-288 also spells out the penalties that can be levied against a person who contravenes its climate change regulations.
In other words, the Act contains a mandatory ("shall") legal duty to put in place regulations needed to fully comply with Kyoto. This obligation is legally enforceable.
