Canada Talks Tough On Climate, But Emissions Nearly 25% Over 1990 Levels

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OTTAWA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - This should be a proud moment for Canada, where a major conference to find a successor to the Kyoto climate change treaty opens on Monday. Instead, the government is faced with an embarrassing predicament. How can a country that has campaigned vocally for the world to do more to combat climate change be doing so poorly when it comes to curbing emissions of its own greenhouse gases?

Under the Kyoto treaty, Canada committed to cutting its emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels by 2010. Recent U.N. data show those emissions were in fact almost 25 percent above 1990 levels in 2003. And the output of greenhouse gases is set to soar as Canada develops enormous oil sands deposits in the West. The process to turn the tar contained in the sands into crude oil releases large amounts of carbon dioxide. Adding to the government's embarrassment as the Montreal conference begins, the scandal-tainted Liberal administration of Prime Minister Paul Martin is expected to lose a no-confidence motion in Parliament on Monday evening. Martin will likely announce on Tuesday a January election date.

Environmental activists worry that the election could be won by the opposition Conservatives, a pro-business grouping which says Kyoto is deeply flawed. Developing the oil sands in the province of Alberta will cement Canada's profitable position as the largest exporter of energy to the United States, a fact that critics say exposes what they call the Liberal government's hypocrisy.

"Canada's dismal performance isn't just about Ottawa's failure to take meaningful action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions," wrote columnist Linda Diebel in the Toronto Star, Canada's largest-circulation newspaper.

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