Friends of the Earth sues Canada for not meeting Kyoto targets
An environmental group sued Canada for failing to meet its Kyoto Protocol obligation to cut greenhouse gases (GHG) in the country. The Canada chapter of an international NGO, Friends of the Earth (FOE), filed a lawsuit in the Ottawa federal court on May 29. They claimed that a clause in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, required the government to prevent air pollution that violates an international binding agreement. "FOE resorted to the courts to require the government to respect its Kyoto promises,' said Beatrice Olivastri, head, FOE, Canada.
In 2002, while ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, Canada agreed to cut GHG emissions to 6 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012, but its emissions have risen by 35 per cent since. Canada is second to Austria in its failure to meet its target. John Baird, Canada's environment minister claimed the emission-reduction targets were not achievable and they would cause economic harm.Canada came out with a new plan in April 2007 to cut emissions by 20 per cent against 2006 levels by 2020 but this was criticised since it would still leave Canada 39 per cent above Kyoto targets for 2008-2012.