[Implementation of the Kyoto obligation and the climate change debate]

The importance of cooperative international implementation mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol was emphasized. In December 1997, more than 50 countries signed the Protocol, although to date, none has ratified it. Canada agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. Implications of this commitment and Canada's ability to make good on the commitment were assessed. The federal government has launched several initiatives to build awareness among Canadians to the climate change issue, and some 450 of the best experts are engaged in trying to identify the obstacles that need to be overcome, the prime opportunities that could be seized, the best practices and how they might be more broadly applied, and to find options in all the sectors of the economy that could bring us to '1990 minus 6'. The objective is clear: an implementation strategy that is effective and meets our Kyoto obligation, is compatible with sustained growth of the economy and maintains or increases our international competitiveness in a number of areas. While an effective implementation strategy will most likely include major changes in lifestyle, in energy efficiency and in energy utilization, the author's view is that Canada has the expertise, the means and the collective will to achieve the target. Canada should also increase its efforts to ensure that some of the key developing countries cooperate in the post Kyoto process. This will not be easy since it involves working with the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the developing world