Canada Withdraws from Kyoto Protocol|加拿大退出京都议定书

Canada Withdraws from Kyoto Protocol

Canada's environment minister, Peter Kent, said the Kyoto Protocol did not represent the way forward for Canada and that the country would face crippling fines for failing to meet its targets. The move, which is legal and was expected, makes Canada the first nation to pull out of the global treaty. The protocol, initially adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, is aimed at fighting global warming. "Kyoto, for Canada, is in the past, and as such, we are invoking our legal right to withdraw from Kyoto," Kent said.

Kent said meeting Canada's obligations under the Kyoto Protocol would cost US$13.6 billion. "That's US$1,600 from every Canadian family. That's the Kyoto cost to Canadians. That was the legacy of an incompetent Liberal government," Kent said. Despite this cost, greenhouse emissions will continue to rise, as two of the world's largest polluters, the US and China, are not covered by the Kyoto agreement. "We believe that a new agreement that will allow us to generate jobs and economic growth represents the way forward," Kent said.

"The Kyoto Protocol is a dated document," Kent continued. "It is actually considered by many an impediment to the move forward, but there was good will demonstrated in Durban. The agreement that we ended up with provides the basis for an agreement by 2015." Canada's previous Liberal government signed the accord, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government never embraced it. Canada declared four years ago that it did not intend to meet its existing Kyoto Protocol commitments, and its annual emissions have risen by about a third since 1990.

1.  Why did Canada pull out of the Kyoto Protocol?

(A) The Kyoto Protocol didn't deal with the issue of handicapped people very well.

(B) The fines would be too high if Canada didn't meet the standards.

(C) Canada didn't believe that any nation would ratify the treaty.

(D) They thought the Kyoto Protocol was illegal.

2.  What was the purpose of the Kyoto Protocol?

(A) It was signed in an effort to fight the global economic recession.

(B) It allowed countries to create more job opportunities.

(C) It had the legal right to punish polluters like the US and China.

(D) It was meant to prevent global warming from getting worse.

3.  What does Kent say about the new agreement signed in Durban?

(A) It is groundwork for a new climate change deal in a few years.

(B) It will never be ratified by the Conservative government.

(C) It lets Canada raise emissions by one third each year.

(D) It is based on the Kyoto Protocol.

加拿大退出京都议定书

　　加拿大环保部长彼得‧肯特表示，京都议定书并不符合该国发展的方向，而且该国将面对因无法达到规定目标而须付出的一笔巨额罚款。退出京都议定书的举动是合法且可以预期的，它让加拿大成为第 1 个退出这个全球性条约的国家。这份议定书最早是于 1997 年在日本京都正式通过，其目的在于对抗全球暖化。肯特说：『对加拿大而言，京都议定书已成过去，既然如此，我们将行使合法权利退出此议定书。』

　　肯特表示，依据京都议定书，加拿大要履行它的义务将花费 136 亿美元。他说：『这代表每个加拿大家庭必须分担 1,600 美元。这是京都议定书带给加拿大人的费用。而这是无能的自由派政府留给人民的烂摊子。』就算付出这笔代价，温室气体的排放量仍会持续上升，因为京都议定书并未涵盖全世界 2 个最大的污染国美国和中国。肯特说：『我们认为提供更多工作机会及经济成长的新协议，才符合我们国家发展的方向。』

　　肯特接着说道：『京都议定书是一份过时的文件。事实上，许多人认为它阻碍了经济发展，但在南非德班所讨论的新协议却对发展有益。我们最后达成的协议，提供了将在 2015 年前定案的新协定基础。』加拿大前任自由派政府签署了京都议定书，但总理史蒂芬‧哈波所带领的保守派政府从未欣然接受。加拿大 4 年前就宣布，该国不打算履行现行京都议定书所规定的义务，而该国每年的温室气体排放量从 1990 年起上升了大约三分之一。

答案：1. (B)2. (D)3. (A)

攸关全球温室气体重要环保公约的『京都议定书』，目标是设定在 2008 年至 2012 年间，将已开发国家的二氧化碳、甲烷、氧化亚氮、氩氟氯碳化物、全氟碳化物及六氟化硫等 6 种温室气体排放量，在 1990 年的基础上平均削减百分之五点二。

虽然目前多达 120 多个国家批准京都议定书，但温室气体排放量与议定书要求仍有一大段距离；特别是温室气体排放量达百分之三十六，为全球排放量最大的美国，在 2001 年以『减少温室气体排放会影响美国经济』、『开发中国家也应承担减少温室气体排放的义务』为由，拒绝批准京都议定书，也让其发展蒙上一层阴影。（数据源：新浪网）