Ottawa to host 'climate change' summit
Environment ministers from more than 30 countries will gather here this weekend to open what is likely to be a difficult and bitter new round of negotiations on climate change.
The meeting is being held behind closed doors, and no agenda has been released. But environmentalists expect frenzied lobbying and alliance-building by opponents and supporters of the Kyoto treaty. They are urging Environment Minister Stephane Dion, who will moderate the talks, to press hard for extension of the Kyoto emissions-cutting process beyond the current 2008-2012 timeline. "It's about trying to come to some agreement among countries that have voiced support for action on climate change on what should be the next step,'' said John Bennett of the Sierra Club in an interview Wednesday.
"The Americans will also be there trying to make sure that nothing happens. So it's really a chance for Canada to demonstrate its diplomatic prowess in bringing together diverse countries.''
Kyoto commits member countries to cut greenhouse emissions by an average of about five per cent from 1990 levels by 2012. Some countries are on track, but many are not.
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