Canada Changes Tone at Durban, Pushes for Climate Deal

Peter Kent wants a Kyoto replacement by 2015.

Environment Minister Peter Kent appears to have had a change of heart at the UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa, as he is now pushing for a binding international climate accord to replace the Kyoto protocol. Kent says the planned three-year break in climate negotiations should be put on hold and be replaced by efforts to have a treaty ready to go by 2015. Kent, who's faced the scorn of international climate change activists and developing world governments from across the planet, almost sounds like a veritable Liberal cabinet minister in these quotes, compliments of The Globe and Mail:

"Time is really running short in terms of the 2 degrees, and in Canada we're already past that in the Arctic, and we really do need to find a way to get meaningful significant reductions from the major developing economies,” Mr. Kent said.

"“What we need to do is get them down. Because what we're seeing now is that the developed countries emissions are coming down, the developing country emissions between now and 2030 will soar.”

The next three years were intended to be a review period in which the UN would examine the results of the Kyoto accord, which is to expire in 2012. Climate negotiations would be put on hold if the UN decides to go that route.