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Policy · Canada · Kyoto

Canada and the Kyoto Protocol.

A short policy timeline of the only G7 country to formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol — the dates, the targets, and what the official record actually says.

Aged document with faint cartographic lines and ink stains

Timeline

  1. December 1997
    Kyoto Protocol adopted at COP3. Canada signs.
  2. 17 December 2002
    Canada ratifies the Kyoto Protocol under the Chrétien government. Target: a 6 % reduction below 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
  3. 16 February 2005
    Kyoto Protocol enters into force globally after Russian ratification.
  4. 2006-2007
    Federal government under Stephen Harper signals the 6 % target is no longer reachable; introduces "Turning the Corner" plan with intensity-based targets instead.
  5. 2009
    Canada associates itself with the Copenhagen Accord and adopts a new 2020 target (17 % below 2005 levels) outside the Kyoto framework.
  6. 12 December 2011
    Canada formally announces withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol, one day after COP17 in Durban. Withdrawal takes effect 15 December 2012.
  7. 2015
    Paris Agreement adopted; Canada signs and later ratifies.

The numerical record

Canada's commitment under Kyoto was an average annual reduction of 6 % below 1990 emissions over the 2008-2012 commitment period. According to the official National Inventory Report submitted to the UNFCCC, Canada's actual emissions in 2008 were approximately 24 % above 1990 levels. The 6 % target was not met. Environment Canada has stated that meeting the target by remaining inside the protocol would have required transferring an estimated CAD 6.7 billion to the international compliance market.

What the withdrawal did and did not do

Withdrawal from Kyoto did not exit Canada from the UNFCCC parent treaty, nor from the subsequent Paris Agreement. The country continues to report annual greenhouse gas inventories to the UN. Withdrawal eliminated the binding 2008-2012 target and any associated penalty obligation, but did not erase the historical commitment from the record.

Sources

  • UNFCCC, Status of Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol (depositary record).
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Inventory Report.
  • Canadian Government, "Statement by Minister Kent" (12 December 2011).
  • Audit by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, 2012 Spring Report, Chapter 2.