Hey, Remember Kyoto?

...because Harper sure doesn't!

From the Globe and Mail:

Federal Environment Minister John Baird arrives at the global climate summit Tuesday looking to administer last rites to the Kyoto Protocol, at least in its current form. But the funeral may have to wait for next year’s session in South Africa.

For Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the end of Canada’s commitment to Kyoto would achieve a long-standing goal, as he has opposed the accord since its inception in 1997 and distanced his government from it since taking office five years ago.

Harper refuses to support Kyoto because it's destined to fail. He knows this, because he does his level best to sabotage it. But don't worry, Harper knows that environmental issues are important to Canadians, so he'll make sure to come up with something better later... Maybe even something his big buddy the U.S. will sign onto!

Officially, the government denies it is aiming to kill Kyoto. However, it vocally supports the political deal reached last year in Copenhagen that would change key elements of Kyoto by demanding binding emission targets from major developing countries.

“We are seeking a legally binding treaty that includes all major emitters, which is what the Copenhagen Accord was all about last year,” Mr. Baird’s spokesman, Bill Rodgers, said. “That includes the emerging economies of China and India. It also includes the United States, which did not ratify Kyoto and has no intention of doing so.”

See, it's really important to get the U.S. on board because without the U.S. it's really just an empty gesture, so we'll follow their lead in whatever they OH WAIT!

The Harper government has no plans to follow a U.S. initiative to slash the greenhouse gas emissions of big polluters — even though Ottawa has pledged to harmonize its climate policies with the Americans.

The White House, stung by its failure to legislate a cap-and-trade bill before the recent congressional elections, has a Plan B set to be implemented within weeks.

The new U.S. rules — passed by executive order — are aimed at curbing emissions from large industrial facilities like refineries and cement factories. They go into effect Jan. 2.

Canadian climate experts say this country could contain the pollution growth from its own industries, notably the oilsands, by introducing similar standards north of the border.

But newly minted Environment Minister John Baird downplayed the plans from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as “patchwork.”

Baird goes on to say that the Plan B south of the border is just too weak so we won't be bothering with it. They'll do something better, for sure. They just won't say what their better plan actually is.

They'll say what it isn't, though! Like the Kyoto protocols. Because the U.S. isn't bothering with that, so we shouldn't, either. But they're very serious about this issue, for reals. They really aren't just waffling and stalling as long as they can in the hopes of getting out of even limp-wristed emissions standards.

Promise.