Official portrait of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad 2009

At the recently concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper missed an opportunity to set a firm commitment for a reduction in North American greenhouse gas emissions which would have challenged his American counterpart to follow suit.

The Harper government has made no secret of its disdain for the existing Kyoto targets (which he once called ‘a Socialist scheme’), going so far as to announce what he felt were more ‘practical’ emissions reductions calling for a 20% reduction of 2006 levels by 2020. This has only raised the ire of environmental groups in Canada, who say that the government is in no position to promise alternative emissions reductions while opposing Kyoto and allowing the limits set by that protocol to balloon to levels 30% higher than the agreement called for.

There is a growing concern among Canadians that Harper’s position is increasingly seen internationally as unproductive and regressive, at a time when other world leaders are recognizing the importance of moving forward expediently by becoming proactively involved in pragmatic approaches to the problem of climate change, which the P.M’s recent Commonwealth appearance did little to allay.

Instead, Harper held firm in his opposition to Kyoto signed by former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, which called for a modest 6% reduction in emissions by 2012 from the levels measured in 1990. Harper’s government has consistently stated that such levels are unattainable, as they would imperil Canada’s economic prosperity. Critics have argued that his steadfast refusal to honor the accord is more likely driven by his desire to remain in lockstep with the United States and its consistent resistance to emissions reductions.

Much of that resistance had been expected to be re-examined with the new American administration of President Barack Obama, but remains largely unchanged despite the U.S. leader’s assertions of the importance he personally places on the issues of climate change and environmental accountability.

The P.M. has been sharply criticized for his statements this year which strongly suggested a reluctance from his government to move forward on a global initiative on greenhouse reductions, particularly at next month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

When asked about the Copenhagen conference in May 2009, Harper responded, “I’m not convinced that everybody understands the importance of what will happen in Copenhagen . . . Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, means changing our lifestyles, changing the way we consume.”

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in mid November, Harper responded to a question about his opinion on Copenhagen, saying fellow APEC leaders “…shared a pretty strong consensus … that the countries of the world remain a long way from a binding, legal treaty on climate change,” adding it may be time to “…get our negotiators out of this morass of hundreds of pages and thousands of brackets of text and into looking at the big picture and coming to some agreement on some big-picture items.”

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper confer at the CHOGM

The Harper government’s reticence to commit to previous greenhouse gas targets became a focal point at the Commonwealth meeting in Trinidad, with the inclusion of Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon signaling a significant attempt by the United Nations to negotiate an agreement among rich and poor member states at least in principle, to the necessity for a global consensus on emissions standards in advance of the Copenhagen gathering.

Ban was quoted as saying Canada needed to take ‘greater action’ on climate change, and that the Canadian government needed ‘ambitious’ mid range targets for reducing green house gases, and that it must do so more rapidly.

“Many countries, developed and developing countries, have come out with ambitious targets,” Ban said. “And Canada, as one of the leading G8 countries, and G20, Canada is going to soon chair G8. Therefore, it is only natural that Canada should come out with ambitious mid-term targets as soon as possible.”

Ban and others met privately with Harper to request a new framework, but from the P.M.’s response, their efforts initially did not appear very successful.

“We’ve been through the exercise in the past decade or so of setting targets that were idealistic or blue sky and no one went out and actually achieved them, or set targets that look great on paper and didn’t actually require any effort. So I think modest, achievable targets – particularly in the short term – will get the planet on the right track, which will allow us to make a longer-term transition.”

Harper reiterated his firm belief that the best means of countering climate change is not via reductions targets but through the development of new technologies to combat the problem.  “Just setting targets doesn’t actually achieve anything unless there is a technological plan to get there,” he said.

Yet Harper was suitably convinced to sign on to the summit’s agreement to fund its ‘Fast Start’ initiative, which calls on the 53 member body to contribute to a program whereby the richer nations would subsidize efforts on behalf of poorer states to tackle climate change by environmentally conscious means.

The Prime Minister was initially reluctant to commit to attending the Copenhagen meeting.  Indeed, Harper seemed to be hedging his appearance at the summit on whether other world leaders were expected to attend. Initial confirmation requests through his aides indicated only that Harper’s participation was contingent on which other heads of state would be there, but that his Environment Minister Jim Prentice would be leading Canada’s delegation.

Asked about the Copenhagen conference while in Singapore during the APEC summit, Harper replied, “If everyone is not included, you set up the possible risk that certain countries will gain economic advantage from being included or not included, so the burden is much lighter if we all contribute. If some contribute or some contribute disproportionately, then the economic risk for others become enormous. At the same time, we’re in the middle of an economic recession, so obviously everybody’s also concerned about the impact of that on their economies. And every leader and every country is trying to get an agreement that will be effective without imposing too heavy a burden on the economy that he or her is responsible for,” Harper said.

It was not until U.S. President Barack Obama (among others) announced his decision to attend Copenhagen that Harper finally agreed to appear himself.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa, February 2009

This has not helped to dispel the continuing suspicions that Mr. Harper is not nearly as interested in having Canada set its own policies and priorities when it comes to its current and future environmental concerns. It seems as though he is far more intent on currying favor with the United States, whom he seems perfectly comfortable in taking a back seat towards.

It remains to be seen in Copenhagen if Canada will be content to stay a passenger of the American policy, or if Stephen Harper will finally take the opportunity to get in the driver’s seat and steer his country’s environmental policy with his own two hands…

From his performance in Trinidad, this seems highly unlikely.

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Tags: barack obama, CHOGM, climate change, copenhagen, stephen harper

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