COPENHAGEN – New Canadian ambassador to the United States Gary Doer is reportedly heading to Denmark as part of a congregation of advisors to speak on Canada's position at the climate talks taking place this week and next.
The Canadian Press is reporting that he and a group of heads of industry met recently in Calgary for a pre-Copenhagen briefing with Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who will also be at the summit.
Stephen Harper is to arrive next week for the closing summit of 110 world leaders, to attempt to hammer out an agreement that is expected to replace the current Kyoto Protocol.
Doer's reputation as Manitoba's “Teflon premier” is expected to help shine up Canada's tarnished image at the talks as a country dragging its feet on action to stem global warming.
Canada earned its third Fossil of the Day award by environmental groups in as many days.
Following Tuesday's announcement that Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner will lead his own delegation to the summit, a group of about 50 Canadian youth in Copenhagen led a protest against the oilsands on Wednesday, demanding an end to further developments.
But Canada also got some surprise help at the talks on Wednesday, with UN climate executive secretary Yvo de Boer telling reporters that Canada could be let off the hook somewhat for failing to comply with the Kyoto Protocol — a reputation that has been dogging Canada at climate discussions in recent years.
He said Canada was put in a tricky situation when it signed the agreement and its biggest trading partner, the United States, did not.
Meanwhile, inside the talks politics ruled the day once again.
China and the United States traded demands, further stressing relations between developing and developed countries.
The third day of the summit exposed deep differences on emissions cuts, legal details and how to raise billions of dollars in climate aid.
"I do hope that President (Barack) Obama can bring a concrete contribution to Copenhagen," Beijing's top climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said, adding he wanted more than the current offer of a 3% cut by 2020 on 1990 levels.
Success at Copenhagen will hinge largely on agreement between the United States and China which together emit 40% of global carbon dioxide.
U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy for climate change, Todd Stern, assured reporters that the United States would contribute to a rich-country fund aimed at helping developing nations deal with climate change problems.
He warned, however, that China, with its booming economy and large reserves of U.S. dollars, would not be a recipient of financial aid from Washington. And he said Washington would not pay reparations for causing a share of global warming.
"We absolutely recognize our historic role in putting emissions in the atmosphere, up there, but the sense of guilt or culpability or reparations, I just categorically reject that," Stern said in response to a reporter's question.
- with files from Reuters
