(Copenhagen, Denmark) Few countries have had the dishonour of receiving three consecutive fossil awards, but Canada continues to aim low at the Copenhagen talks, not letting a negotiating day pass without being selected as the Fossil of the Day. This “prize”, given to countries who are blocking progress at the United Nations climate summit, is awarded daily by a coalition of 400 leading international NGOs.
Today, Canada and Croatia shared the first place Fossil of the Day. The nomination cites them for pushing in a Kyoto Protocol contact group against the 1990 base year, noting that “Canada in particular has been relentlessly opposed to measuring emissions in relation to the internationally accepted base year of 1990, in favour of--as a senior negotiator put it in an stakeholder meeting--a "more contemporary" base year. Could Canada's desire to erase the past have something to do with fact that tar sands emissions have more than doubled from 1990 to now? Or is it just an effort to make its tiny little 3% target look a bit bigger?”
Canada has recently swept these awards, winning Fossil of the Year both in 2007 and 2008. Despite an apparent ongoing determination to stay at the bottom, the majority of Canadians continue to hope that Canada has had enough of winning Fossil prizes and is ready to negotiate.
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For more information, contact:
Hannah McKinnon
Denmark: +45 2553 6081 Canadian Cell: 613.276.7791
