I guess we can add the UN to the growing list of people or organizations that Baird will soon be coming out and attacking for not thinking his plan is up to snuff:
Canada’s “less ambitious” climate-change plan cannot guarantee that greenhouse gas emissions will actually go down, says the head of the international body that oversees the Kyoto treaty. Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, questioned the assertion that with tough enough intensity targets, an absolute reduction would occur….Mr. de Boer suggested there is some confusion over how Canada intends to live up to the Kyoto Protocol, which it signed in 1997… Another United Nations official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there’s a sense of alarm in the agency that Canada’s reluctance to try to meet the Kyoto targets will encourage other countries to shirk the treaty. “Canada is perceived to be a role model for the United States. If Canada throws up its hands and says there’s no point, it has a negative rub off for the U.S.,” the official said.
So let’s see… yesterday it was Liberals, Dion, environmentalists, Al Gore, and (for whatever reason) the EU that Baird took turns at attacking or blaming. So I guess there should be a statement tomorrow attacking the UN now as well from Baird or his office.
As for the 2nd part, I can already tell the UN that the current Conservative government doesn’t care at all whether their attitude encourages other countries - and particularly not the US - to shirk Kyoto or not. They are ideological brothers, and are both probably actively encouraging each other to stick it to Kyoto as much as possible. Why else do you think Canada is signaling it wants to join that little group of nations (which the US is a member of) that would prefer emissions targets to be voluntary?
I saw this earlier and just shook my head. We are becoming a laughing stock. Baird and his crew just keep blurting out the same lies over and over again, expecting them to stick I guess. It’s beyond arrogant to though, to see him tell Suzuki and others, that his plan is “the most aggresive in the world, etc.” I really wonder what enables people to that.
Surely this charade cannot sustain itself. You cannot have the entire environmental community telling you the plan is bad, while you insist they are all wrong and the plan is spectacular.
On your second point though, I’m seriously concerned. Apparently the UN said that by not trying to meet Kyoto targets, Canada is opting out of Kyoto, de facto. I worried that was the plan and there was no desire to renew next year. I think it was May who suggested this possibility.