Impacts

The Canadian economy will be more affected than that of any other country. Alberta will experience the strongest impact because of its energy production and use of coal. The Protocol could cost Alberta over eight billion dollars and thousands of jobs per year. A reduction in government revenues would have a negative effect on programs and services.

If the Kyoto Protocol is approved:

  • industry will have to modify technologies, resulting in higher product prices,
  •  and other industries will have to purchase credits from countries not using their allotment,
  • $2 to $6 billion worth of credits may have to be purchased each year, with costs ultimately passed on to consumers,
  • money spent on credits would leave Canada,
  • resources and products would become less competitive in global markets,
  • industries that consume large amounts of energy would face rising prices,
  • emission targets could make oil sands projects uneconomical to continue,
  • investors would favour countries that do not have the extra costs associated with the Protocol, and
  • jobs would be lost because of the difficulty of remaining competitive with the U.S., our largest trading partner and a non-participant in the Kyoto Protocol.

Some reports suggest:

  • 450,000 jobs could be lost, 
  • income taxes could rise substantially, 
  • electricity costs could increase by 100%, 
  • natural gas prices could go up by 60%, and
  • gasoline could reach $1.10 per litre. 

All this would occur without making an actual or significant reduction in global emissions.

Despite being a small contributor (2%), Canada will pay heavily because of its fossil fuel, natural resource production. Estimates suggest the economic risk to Canada will be four times that of the European Economic Community and 10 times that of Japan.

What is the Kyoto Protocol?
The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty agreed to in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. It requires countries around the world to cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
        Because global warming is primarily caused by burning fossil fuels, Kyoto encourages countries to move to more environmentally responsible ways of producing and using energy.
        Under Kyoto, the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is different for each country. For the European Union as a group, the target is eight per cent from 1990 levels; for Japan, seven per cent; and for Canada, six per cent. Because we have allowed emissions to increase since 1990, Canada is actually required to reduce emissions by about 18 per cent from today’s levels.
        In order for the Kyoto Protocol to come into force, it must be ratified by 55 countries that produce 55 per cent of the developed world’s 1990 carbon dioxide emissions. More than 100 countries have now ratified the agreement, including Canada, the European Union, Japan, China and New Zealand. To learn about the current status of the ratification process, visit the
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Why should Canada have to adopt Kyoto when we only produce two per cent of the world’s emissions?

Climate change is a global problem and the solution must be global.

Canadians currently produce about 700 megatonnes of greenhouse gases per year, much of it from wasteful energy use. This is about two per cent of total global emissions, coming from a country with about half of one per cent of the world’s population.

In other words, the average Canadian produces four times the global average level of emissions – 23.6 tonnes per person, per year.

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By taking action to reduce emissions, we will accept responsibility for the damage we are causing, demonstrate our leadership in the world community and promote innovation and energy efficiency among our own industries. Other benefits include job creation, cleaner air and a cleaner environment.


How can we meet Canada’s Kyoto target? We can meet our Kyoto target mostly by reducing our wasteful use of energy, with technologies that are widely available.

Canadians have already taken big strides in energy conservation since 1970, even without any overall plan to do so. New homes, appliances and cars are more energy efficient than ...

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