Environment minister calls Copenhagen a positive agreement for Canada
Posted December 19, 2009 2:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Jim Prentice says the so-called Copenhagen Accord is positive for Canada and brings developing countries on board for key climate commitments.
The federal environment minister says Canada’s goal will be to see the accord translated into a binding international treaty in 2010.
But he brushes off criticism that Canada wasn’t invited to the crucial negotiating session between China, India, Brazil, the U.S. and South Africa.
Prentice says Canada was not there because it’s only responsible for two per cent of the world’s emissions.
He says Ottawa achieved its negotiating objectives for setting 2006 as a base year for carbon emissions, a commitment of a 20 per cent reduction from 2006 levels as of 2020 and of harmonizing its targets with those of the U.S.
Prentice also brushed aside criticism from environmentalists, who awarded Canada an award dubbed the ‘Colossal Fossil’ during the conference.
