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International Climate Action Network
Climate Action Network/Réseau Action Climat - Canada

For Release: September 21, 2005

Canada Must Set the High-Bar for Next Round of Climate Change Talks

(Ottawa) At a joint press conference the International Climate Action Network and the The Climate Action Network/Réseau Action Climat - Canada (CAN) call upon the Canadian government to set a tone of ambition and determination to ensure this years UN Conference on Climate Change succeeds in maintaining the momentum of the Kyoto Protocol. The call comes on the eve of Ministerial meetings dedicated to preparing for the upcoming conference in Montreal that Canada will host and chair.

“From demonstrating real action to reduce emissions at home, to leading other countries into a new round of negotiations to address dangerous climate change, the eyes of the world will be on Canada,” said Jennifer Morgan, Director, WWF Climate Change Programme. “Prime Minister Paul Martin’s remarks at the UN that “Climate change is real, and the world must recognize it; human activity is a defining cause, and the world must act on it.” set the right tone. This can only be translated into action by teaming up with the positive forces for further action, and not allowing the lowest common denominator--in-action.”

The November 28 - December 9 meeting in Montreal is the first gathering of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol since the Protocol entered into force last February, the world’s only multilateral agreement setting absolute reduction targets for emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases which cause climate change. The first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012 and work to explore a next phase begins in earnest in Ottawa as Environment Minister Dion meets with counterparts from 40 countries, September 22 – 24.

“We are extremely worried that some parts of the federal government are trying to play down both the importance and the expectations in regards to the meeting in Montreal” said Steven Guilbeault, Climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace who was present in Kyoto when it was adopted. “Failure in Montreal is simply not an option, the stakes are too high and Canada’s international reputation would be seriously damaged”, he added.

For the UN Conference on Climate Change to be a success, Minister Dion must guide the parties towards:

• A commitment to launch formal negotiations towards a post-2012 greenhouse gas reduction regime to address the need for significantly greater emission reductions to address dangerous climate change;
  
  
• A clear timetable for reaching an agreement, to give clarity and continuity but recognizing negotiations will take time
  
  
• The Kyoto Protocol as the main legal platform for the negotiations;
  
  
• Identification of the key elements to be negotiated, including deeper emission cuts for industrialised countries and support for further commitments from some developing countries in line with meeting their development goals
  

“We realize these are tall orders but the global threat of climate change is the most serious issue the international community will ever face. It demands an extra ordinary response,” said John Bennett, Executive Director CAN.