Ottawa To Match Washington's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cut

November 30, 2009 6:02 a.m. EST

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (AHN) - While Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has changed his mind about attending the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, he is not altering the federal government's position about cutting further Ottawa's greenhouse gas emissions.

Harper announced in Port of Spain, while attending the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, that he is following the footsteps of U.S. President Barack Obama in attending the UN Climate Change summit. He is also limiting Canada's planned greenhouse gas emissions reduction to 17 percent over 2005 levels from 2009 until 2020. Harper admitted it is identical to the United States' target.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has challenged Canada to increase its greenhouse gas emission targets since Ottawa will be the host of G8 meeting next year, and developed and developing countries have set higher targets.

Harper said in a statement, "We all recognized the urgency of taking action to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change. In particular, we recognized the threats to small island states, low-lying coastal states and the least-developed countries."

He added, "Canada is seeking a long-term international agreement where we all contribute to the solution. Such an agreement would also encourage the development and use of clean technologies while fostering the economic growth needed to pay for global warming mitigation."