June 4
Friends of the Earth Canada has filed a lawsuit accusing the government of Canada of abandoning its international commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
Sierra Legal, an environmental law firm, filed the lawsuit on behalf of Friends of the Earth in Federal Court in Ottawa.
Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in December 2002, legally requiring a reduction of overall greenhouse gas emissions of 6 percent below 1990 levels during the period 2008 to 2012. However, Canada´s greenhouse gas emissions have increased more than 25 percent since 1990, and the environmental group argues that the targets set by Canada´s conservative government would fall far short of meeting the Kyoto requirements.
On April 26, the Canadian government announced a greenhouse gas reduction target of 20 percent below 2006 levels by 2020. But Friends of the Earth said that would leave Canada about 39 percent off target with Kyoto in 2012 and would not achieve the Kyoto target until at least 2025 ù 13 years past the deadline.
"The remedy we seek is clear," said Beatrice Olivastri, Friends of the Earth Canada CEO. "Canada must comply with our environmental laws and live up to our domestic and international commitments to combat global warming."
John Baird, Canada´s minister of the environment, has blamed the previous liberal government for failing to follow through with promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
·After years of inaction, Canada now has one of the most aggressive plans to tackle greenhouse gases and air pollution in the world,ö Baird recently said.
The conservative party, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, took office last year. Baird was appointed the environment minister at the start of 2007.
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