Canada withdraws from Kyoto

Canada’s decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol has drawn the ire of the international community, particularly from China and Japan.

Canada became the first nation to withdraw from the climate-change treaty on Dec. 12, citing Kyoto’s failure to hold developing countries like China and India responsible for their significant greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the Huffington Post. Under the current agreement, poorer countries take voluntary, nonbinding steps to curb emissions, while developed countries must make quantitative cuts. The United States has never participated in the treaty, arguing that China and India should be held under the same legally binding framework.

Japan’s environment minister, Goshi Hosono, urged Canada not to withdraw from Kyoto, insisting the agreement contains “important elements” that could help combat climate change, while Lu Weimin of China’s Foreign Ministry said he hoped Canada would “face up to its due responsibilities and duties.”