By Xinhua
Ottawa : Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s stance on climate change at the Commonwealth meeting came under fire with opposition accusing the government of “sabotaging” world environmental efforts.
“Instead of leading by example, this prime minister engaged in sabotage of the Commonwealth conference,” Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said at the House of Commons Monday.
“When the Commonwealth turned to Canada … Canada looked away,” added Liberal deputy leader Michael Ignatieff.
On Saturday, Commonwealth leaders failed to agree on recommending binding cuts to carbon dioxide emissions ahead of next month’s climate conference in Bali, largely because of Canada’s opposition to the measure.
Opposition leaders argued that the 1997 Kyoto Protocol failed because it did not impose binding cuts on major emitters while the US and Australia had refused to ratify the pact.
The opposition said Harper, with his refusal to approve the resolution in Uganda, has already blocked any chance of real progress to be made at the Bali conference.
“The prime minister shamed us this weekend and he acted like an environmental criminal,” said Bloc Quebecois (BQ) MP Bernard Bigras.
BQ leader Gilles Duceppe wrote a letter to Indonesia’s president, appealing to him not to listen to what the Canadian government has to say.
Environment Minister John Baird fired back Monday, saying it is not that Canada is opposed to binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions, but that all big emitters need to come on board to effectively combat the problem.
Canada had agreed under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce its emissions to six percent below 1990 levels by 2012, but emissions have instead increased by 35 percent.
The government has declared repeatedly that the target is impractical and thus unattainable.
In April, Baird unveiled a plan to cut Canada’s emissions by 20 percent by 2020, based on 2006 levels, and by up to 70 percent by 2050.