Why do the critics think Kyoto is bad for Canada?
Former energy company CEO-turned-columnist Gwyn Morgan wrote the following in The Globe and Mail on Feb. 5: “Canada was the only net energy exporter to take on targets. Canada tried to make the point that we should get credit for emissions associated with energy exports, but to no avail. By the time Canada ratified the accord, we were already around 25 per cent over our Kyoto target, and moving up. Meanwhile, emissions from developing countries were free to grow with no restrictions.” Chretien threatened to pull out of the accord in the spring of 2002 if Canada didn’t get credit for clean energy exports such as natural gas and hydro power. “We’re next to the United States and we are the only one in that position to export non-polluting energy to a non-signing country that pollutes a lot. This should be recognized,” he said in a 2002 BBC News Online article. European countries would have none of it. The Globe argued that Canada’s Kyoto commitment is virtually unattainable, noting that t
