OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Jean Chrétien reaffirmed his government's intention to ratify the controversial Kyoto Protocol despite mounting doubt about whether Canada can afford it -- but he signalled that he won't be nailed down to a deadline.
"A cost-benefit analysis is being carried out and when we have all of the data we will make the decision," he told the House of Commons. "I think it's important for Canada to position itself so as to sign Kyoto one day," he said.
Later he added "We think Kyoto is very important and we would like to be able to sign it as quickly as possible but we have to undertake the necessary consultations beforehand."
He sidestepped persistent demands by the Bloc Québécois yesterday to confirm a statement he issued last summer that was widely interpreted as committing Canada to ratify the accord in 2002.
After Kyoto was renegotiated in Bonn, Germany, in July, 2001, Mr. Chrétien said, in a statement still on his office Web site, that he was "confident that the agreement reached . . . in Bonn opens the way for Canada's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol next year, following full consultations with the provinces, the territories, stakeholders and other Canadians."
New Democrat leader Alexa McDonough criticized the Liberal government for what she called backtracking on Kyoto.
"That is what now parades as leadership from the government . . . There was a day when the government was saying, 'We are going to be leaders in Kyoto.' Then it became, 'By June, 2002, we are going to ratify.' Then it became 'By the end of 2002.' Today it's 'perhaps one day.' "
Under pressure to lower the costs of complying with Kyoto, Canada is now lobbying for a huge break on the greenhouse-gas emission cuts required under the accord: so-called "clean-energy export credits." Critics say the bid is a strategy to give Canada justification for walking away from Kyoto.
So far, Kyoto supporters are balking at Canada's latest demand. The European Union's environment commissioner, Margot Wallstrom, announced last week that her 15-state community will likely oppose Canada's quest to obtain export credits for selling natural gas and hydroelectricity to the U.S.
Ottawa is campaigning for credits to cover as much as 30 per cent of its required Kyoto emission cuts -- a proposal that, if successful, could significantly lower the price to Canada for complying.
"Canadian ratification would be a lot easier if we had clean-energy credit recognition by the Europeans and of course the other nations involved in the process," said Environment Minister David Anderson.
An unofficial government estimate obtained by The Globe and Mail this month has pegged the cost of Kyoto compliance as ranging from $10-billion to $15-billion over five years. That figure does not include indirect costs.
Mr. Anderson played down European opposition to granting Canada the credits, pointing out that the Kyoto community is still entertaining the idea.
"What I do find difficult is people who come back and say, 'Ah, doing that would advantage Canada, so we're against it.' If it reduces greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, I don't think that which country it advantages or disadvantages should be the first question to answer," Mr. Anderson said.
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