Canada formally withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol on Monday, according to Voice of America, causing governments, the United Nations and environmental organizations to express their disappointment and disbelief. The protocol was extended at a U.N. summit in South Africa on Sunday.
As reported on the United Nations site, 192 nations, including Canada, had ratified the agreement to reduce emissions. The U.S., Afghanistan, Andorra and South Sudan have not ratified the agreement; only the U.S. is a signatory.
Here are statements by officials on Canada's exit from the protocol.
* "Before this week, the Kyoto Protocol covered less than 30 percent of global emissions. Now it covers less than 13 percent and that number is only shrinking. The Kyoto Protocol does not cover the world's two largest emitters -- the United States and China -- and therefore will not work. It is now clear that Kyoto is not the path forward for a global solution to climate change; instead, it is an impediment." -- Statement by Minister Peter Kent on the Environment Canada website gave the justification for the decision to withdraw.
* "The Canadian government has been the poster child of inaction at these talks, and although they no longer have the global credibility to have a meaningful impact here, they have be constantly singled out as a laggard and even a pariah in these negotiations." -- Ani Terton covered the events in Durban for the Canadian environmental group Green Action Centre and wrote this blog post on its website.
* "I regret that Canada has announced it will withdraw and I am surprised over its timing. Whether or not Canada is a party to the Kyoto Protocol, it has a legal obligation under the Convention to reduce its emissions and a moral obligation to itself and future generations to lead in the global effort. Industrialized countries, whose emissions have risen significantly since 1990, as is the case for Canada, remain in a weaker position to call on developing countries to limit their emissions." -- Executive Secretary of U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Christiana Figueres was quoted by the U.N. News Center.
* "The announcement of Canada's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol is bad news for the fight against climate change. There's no question of letting up on our efforts or of losing the momentum of the Durban agreement which forms a coherent whole." -- Statement by the Ministry of Foreign and European spokesperson was announced on the Ministry website.
Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and an amateur Africanist, focusing his personal studies on human rights and political issues on the continent.
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