JURIST - Paper Chase: Canada facing environmentalist lawsuit for alleged Kyoto breaches

[JURIST] Canada faces a lawsuit from conservationist group Friends of the Earth [official website] for failing to meet its emissions goals under the Kyoto Protocol [text, BBC backgrounder], which government officials have deemed to be untenable. The group presented a legal opinion to Canadian Environment Minister Rona Ambrose [official profile] on Tuesday stating that according to a recent government report [PDF], Canadian pollution violates international law. Friends of the Earth hope to use the Canadian Environmental Protection Act [text] to obligate the government to honor its commitments to control pollution.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, Canada agreed to reduce greenhouse emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012; however, its emissions are currently up 26.6 percent. South Africa brought a complaint to the committee charged with enforcing the Protocol in May, listing Canada among the 15 nations that have failed to report on their progress toward achieving its goals. Canada has said that if it fails to meet targets, it will not purchase emissions credits through the European Union's Emissions Trading System [EU backgrounder]. AFP has more.

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