Prime Minister Stephen Harper has arrived in Europe, where he will likely back the U.S. view on climate change that promises to create a rift at the upcoming G8 Summit in Germany.
The G8 nations have been wrestling with finding a climate change solution that works for everyone, but there is a growing gap between the position of the U.S. and most other countries.
The U.S. rejects ambitious greenhouse gas-reduction targets proposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Germans want to see a resolution holding the rise in global temperature to two degrees Celsius, the level at which scientists say damage to the planet can be contained.
Doing so will require a cut in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 50 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050, say the Germans and most other European nations.
U.S. President George W. Bush rejects that target. He wants to make sure that any new deal includes China, India and other emerging economies. He also wants to take the negotiating process away from the United Nations and allow countries to set individual targets.
Harper has indicated he hopes to play the role of broker between the two sides to try and find a solution that works for everyone.
Environment Minister John Baird, who travelled with Harper to Germany, told CTV's Question Period not to expect any major developments out of the summit. The G-8 meets from June 6 to 8 in the coastal town of Heiligendamm.
Constructive role
Canada's goal is to play a "constructive" role in convincing the major greenhouse gas-emitting nations to working together.
That's the message Harper will be bringing when he meets with Merkel, who is hosting the summit, Baird said.
"I think he'll say that it's absolutely essential we get all of the major emitters coming together to reduce greenhouse gases," Baird said. "That we're not going to solve this problem in a few short days in Germany -- this is going to be something that we're going to have to work at, as folks at the UN have said, over the next two to three years. And we're committed to playing a constructive role."
The next round of climate talks is set for Bali, Indonesia in December. Some G8 leaders want a deadline of late 2009 for a replacement deal for the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
The U.S. refused to ratify Kyoto and Canada's Conservative government has rejected the target of a six per cent cut in emissions below 1990 levels by 2012.
"No other industrialized country that's part of the Kyoto process has given up on its targets the way that Canada has," Aaron Freeman of Environmental Defence told Â鶹´«Ã½net.
The Conservatives -- who opposed ratifying Kyoto in the first place -- have blamed the Liberals for allowing GHG emissions in Canada to rise more than 35 per cent above the country's Kyoto target.
Some analysts have suggested Harper will align Canada with the U.S. position. Baird, however, said Canada will work to ensure no nation is "isolated" from talks about a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.
"If the United States or China or India or any of these growing economies are left out, that would be bad for the environment. It wouldn't be an effective plan," Baird said.
China and India both signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol. As developing countries, they weren't expected to cut emissions in the first phase, but were expected to accept reductions in the post-Kyoto treaty.
While China is poised to become the biggest total GHG emitter this year, the U.S. and Canada still emit far more GHGs on a per-capita basis.
A group of 16 Asian countries argued earlier this week that the burden of cutting emissions should still fall on the developed world.
The critics
Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Ujjal Dosanjh said Canada has lost credibility on environmental issues after backing away from its Kyoto targets.
"Canada has to be a leader to be able to be a broker," Dosanjh said on Question Period.
"Even on China and India, how can Canada say to them, 'We're not doing very much, what we're doing has been called a fraud by Al Gore and has been panned by David Suzuki, but we want to be an honest broker, we want you at the table.'"
New Democrat MP Paul Dewar said Canada's performance at the summit represents a make-or-break moment for the government.
"If Canada can't play that brokerage role, to lead and align ourselves with people like the Germans and the Europeans, Canadians are going to say what is going on? Why can't we? What is our plan and where is our commitment?"
The official who briefed reporters on Friday also said Canada will be looking for a solution that works internationally while respecting Canada's unique needs.
"We're special, we're unique in the G8. We're not like Europe, we're not like the United States in all respects," said the official.
"So we'll be looking for a result that both advances things on an international level but also is true to Canadian requirements."
Europe was not sympathetic in 2002 when then-prime minister Jean Chretien asked that Canada receive Kyoto credit for its clean energy exports like hydro-electricity and natural gas. The EU agreed to a target of an eight per cent cut below 1990 levels, compared to six per cent for Canada.
Unlike Canada, Europe took very early action on the climate file, Freeman said.
Canada has expanded production from Alberta's oilsands, "which is about the dirtiest form of oil extraction that we know of," he said.
The Conservative government's latest plan, released by Baird on April 26, contains weak targets and numerous loopholes, he said.
A study of the Tory plan by the Pembina Institute found five areas where the oil industry receives preferential treatment.
Harper will participate in the Canada-EU Summit in Berlin on June 4 and will have bilateral discussions on June 5 in Paris with newly-elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French Prime Minister Francois Fillion.
"This is an important opportunity to promote Canada's interests, values and successes on the world stage," Harper said in a news release Sunday.
"From highlighting Canada's strong economic performance to discussing commitments in Afghanistan, these meetings will focus on global issues that also really hit home."
