Sludge Watch ==> First Global Warming Lawsuit Launched Against Canada

[Maureen Reilly]

First global warming lawsuit launched against Canada















http://www.foecanada.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=321&Itemid=2




Media Release – For Immediate Release






First global warming lawsuit launched against Canada





(Ottawa, Canada, May 29, 2007)  Friends of the Earth Canada has launched a 
landmark lawsuit today against the Government of Canada for abandoning its 
international commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.  Filed in Federal Court 
in Ottawa by Canada’s foremost environmental law organization, Sierra Legal, 
the lawsuit alleges that the federal government is violating Canadian law by 
failing to meet its binding international commitments to reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions.



“Because climate change is the most urgent crisis ever facing the planet, 
Friends of the Earth is resorting to the courts to require the federal 
government to respect its Kyoto promises,” says Friends of the Earth Canada 
Chief Executive Officer Beatrice Olivastri.  “While the government talks 
about 'Turning the Corner,' in reality it has made a serious wrong turn that 
will affect the lives of generations to come.”



The lawsuit is an application for judicial review and alleges that the 
government’s failure to effectively regulate greenhouse gases is likely to 
violate the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 
Kyoto Protocol.  This violation of international law contravenes section 166 
of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which states that Canada must 
abide by its international agreements in preventing pollution.



Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in December 2002, legally requiring a 
reduction of overall greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 
levels during the period 2008 to 2012 – a target of 563 Megatonnes of 
greenhouse gases.



On April 26, 2007, the federal government announced its ‘Turning the Corner’ 
climate change strategy which set greenhouse gas reduction targets from 
industry and other sources to 20 per cent below 2006 levels by 2020.  This 
would leave Canada approximately 39 per cent off target with Kyoto in 2012 
and would not achieve the Kyoto target until 2025, if at all.



“Canadians expect the Government of Canada to live up to its domestic and 
international commitments to combat global warming, and our environmental 
laws require it to do so," says Sierra Legal lawyer Robert Wright.  "Our 
government shouldn't have to be asked to put on a credible and lawful 
climate change cap."




“The federal government has a legal duty to Canadians and the world to make 
'demonstrable progress' in reducing greenhouse gases under the UN 
agreements, and to work with all Canadians to adapt to impacts of climate 
change,” says Christine Elwell, Friends of the Earth Canada Senior 
Campaigner.  “Instead, we see important programs dismantled, terminated and 
slashed - all part of the pattern of Kyoto denial by the federal 
government.”



“The remedy we seek is clear," continues Olivastri, "Canada must comply with 
our environmental laws and live up to our domestic and international 
commitments to combat global warming.”



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To download the history of the case, please visit www.foecanada.org. To 
download the Application, please visit www.sierralegal.org.





For more information, please contact:



Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth Canada: (613) 241-0085 ext. 
26, cell: (613) 724-8690


Robert Wright, Senior Counsel, Sierra Legal:  (416) 368-7533 ext. 25, cell: 
(416) 573-4258







Friends of the Earth Canada is a voice for the environment, working 
nationally and internationally to inspire the renewal of communities and the 
earth through research, education and advocacy.  It is the Canadian member 
of the 70 country strong Friends of the Earth International 
(www.foecanada.org).



Sierra Legal is Canada’s largest non-profit environmental law organization, 
dedicated to enforcing and strengthening the laws that safeguard our 
environment, wildlife and public health (www.sierralegal.org).