The Government of Canada has announced on 12 December  its formal withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. In a statement delivered in the Canadian House of Commons, Peter Kent, Canadian Minister for the Environment, stated that “we are invoking our legal right to formally withdraw from Kyoto. This decision formalizes what we have said since 2006 that we will not implement the Kyoto Protocol.”

Kent  said that the Kyoto Protocol  does not commit the two largest emitters,  (US and China) to any emissions reductions, and thus it “will not work.”  He referred to the Durban Platform,  as “a way forward that builds on our work at Copenhagen and Cancun.” Kent added that Canada will work towards a legally binding agreement on climate change which will  allow Canada to  “continue creating jobs and economic growth” and said Canada  is well on its way “to meeting the commitment made in Copenhagen by reducing green house gas emissions by 17 per cent over 2005 levels by 2020.