Canada unphased by rapid growth, rising greenhouse gas emissions

Montreal (Platts)--29Nov2005

The leader of the first multilateral climate change talks since the Kyoto
Protocol became international law said Monday that a rapidly growing Canadian
oil and gas industry would not deter the country from complying with the
treaty.
     Stephane Dion, the Canadian environment minister and the president of the
first meeting of the parties to the Kyoto accord since it entered into force
in February, made his comments on the opening day of the two-week dialogue.
     "We have a booming oil and gas industry," Dion said, referring to
increased fossil fuel production from "tar sands" in Western Canada. "Despite
[that] we don't give up because we believe we can have more [economic] growth
with less waste and more energy efficiency," he told reporters in an afternoon
briefing.
     But the growth created partly by the energy sector and hailed by Dion has
come at a price in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. While Canada has pledged
to cut emissions 6% below 1990 levels by 2012 under the Kyoto treaty, the
nation's strong economy has driven emissions to 23% above that benchmark,
according to the latest International Energy Agency figures.
     "By far we have the hardest target of the Kyoto countries," Dion said.
Under the agreement, Canada has pledged to cut annual emissions roughly
250-mil mt from current levels by 2012.
     Amid questions from reporters asking whether increased fossil fuel
production in Canada could undermine the country's credibility on climate
change, Dion was undaunted.
     "Number one, we're going to regulate [GHG] emissions," he said. "Number
two, the oil and gas industry will have to deliver a lot of reductions with an
obligation to cut 45-mil mt."
     The federal government wants to keep Canadian industry in Canada and not,
through GHG controls, force companies to move their facilities to other
countries, he said.
     Dion also rejected suggestions by reporters that he and other members of
the cabinet would be too focused on an upcoming election to effectively manage
the Montreal talks.
     Dion's boss, Prime Minister Paul Martin, was expected to lose a no
confidence vote late Monday--forcing an election face-off against the
opposition Conservative Party in late January.
     "I am a professional and I know where my priorities are," Dion said. "I
am the national and international face of these talks until Dec 9. On Dec 10,
I will be facing a different decision."
     The media briefing with Dion followed the first press conference of the
talks by environmental groups, which blasted the Bush administration for
refusing to implement the Kyoto Protocol. Neither Dion nor other delegates to
the conference expect the US to change its position at these talks.
     Dion countered that the US, through bilateral agreements with Canada and
other nations as well as in co-operation with the G8 economically influential
countries, is taking "concrete action on climate change."
     He acknowledged that US opposition to the Kyoto treaty has effectively
created a two-track system for dealing with climate change, one a short-term
framework under Kyoto and the other a long-term approach. "I am aware of these
different views. But the role of a president is to bridge them," he said.
     Consequently, Dion said he was in a "listening mode" for the rest of this
week before he pushes for a new international consensus next week on how to
cut climate change.

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