Harper to pull out of Kyoto Protocol next month

CTV:

Canada will announce next month that it will formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, CTV News has learned.

The Harper government has tentatively planned an announcement for a few days before Christmas, CTV's Roger Smith reported Sunday evening.

The developments come as Environment Minister Peter Kent prepares for a climate conference in Durban, South Africa that opens on Monday, with delegates from 190 countries seeking a new international agreement for cutting emissions.

Issues on the agenda include extending the Kyoto emission targets, a move being championed by Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate secretariat.

NDP environment critic Megan Leslie called the government's decision to pull out of the Kyoto accord "disappointing."

"It's a really cynical and it's a really cowardly move," Leslie told CTV News.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May called the move "a very damaging act of sabotage."

"It will reverberate around the world," May told CTV. "Canada will be a pariah globally if it goes through with this."

The accord is set to expire next year.

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