The Kyoto Protocol. Those words have a nice ring to them, like a new car model. Canada’s not buying it, though. We opted out on December 12th of last year.

The international agreement was signed in Kyoto Japan, in December 1997. As of September 2011 a hundred and ninety-one states and thirty-seven industrialized countries had signed on. Each pledged to sharply reduce their burning of fossil fuels in order to lower emissions of greenhouse gases.

Some scientists claim that greenhouse gases (most notably carbon dioxide) swaddle the earth as though in a blanket, warming it unnaturally. They blame climatic unrest, resulting in an unusual rate of weather-related disasters around the world on that unnatural warming.

Each of the signing parties committed to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by about five per cent (below 1990 levels) between 2008 and 2012. When the Liberal government of the day agreed to Kyoto in 1997, it promised that Canada would achieve a six per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2012.

But in early 2006, when the Conservatives replaced the Liberal government, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions had vaulted to 25 per cent over the 1990 levels, the most of any country in the G8. Those emissions are still rising today. By the end of 2012, they’re predicted to surpass our Kyoto treaty commitment by 28.8 per cent.

In theory, the Kyoto Protocol is a nice vehicle. But it’s not the right model for our great Canadian family. As Environment Minister, Peter Kent, noted, short of Draconian measures, such as removing all our cars and truck from all our roads, refraining from heating any building in Canada, or closing Canada’s entire farming and agricultural sector, it would have been impossible for Canada to reach the goal the Liberal government agreed to. Such actions would have, at the very least, meant the loss of thousands of jobs.

The Kyoto Protocol outlined stiff penalties for offenders. If Canada had not legally withdrawn from the agreement, we would have been required to purchase carbon credits from the international community as our license to continue producing carbon. That penalty would have cost between $14 and $19 billion—roughly $1600 dollars for every Canadian household.

Since 2006, Canada has taken action to make real reductions in our emissions. It’s time for a new agreement, with legally binding commitments for all major emitters. Our government will keep on addressing pollution, but we aim to do it fairly, effectively, and comprehensively—while continuing to create jobs and growth in Canada. 

As I said, we’ve opted out of the dream vehicle called the Kyoto Protocol. We’ve got our eye on a practical and environmentally sound model that better fits our Canadian family.

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The audio version of Garry's Jan. 30, 2012 op-ed column can be heard by clicking here