Backward momentum

With the Cons desperate to claim to have done something on the environment beyond recycling the programs they cut last year, there can be little doubt that the G8 climate change summit was going to be spun as a success if it resulted in anything short of an axe-murdering spree. (Only then would the Cons have gone into "blame the Liberals" mode.) And a compliant media seems to have given the Cons the positive headlines they wanted without looking at the summit's actual results.

But on any reasonable assessment, the summit and its aftermath proved little aside from the Cons' continued rejection of anything resembling reality - and any momentum developed by the G8 is headed squarely in the wrong direction.

To see why this is true, we'll need to start with one of the less-than-surprising outcomes of the summit. Reuters notes that the U.S. is no more interested in joining into a global effort than ever (and indeed has slid backwards since the Clinton era when it at least signed Kyoto):

"On two issues, the United States were the only ones who spoke against consensus," German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters at the end of the two-day meeting, which he chaired on behalf of Germany's G8 presidency.

Gabriel said the U.S. remained opposed to a global carbon emissions trading scheme like the one used in the European Union and rejected the idea that industrialized nations should help achieve a "balance of interests" between developing countries' need for economic growth and environmental protection.

"We find this regrettable," Gabriel said, adding "I would have been disappointed if I'd expected something different."

Of course, the U.S.' reticence is nothing new. But what has changed since Harper took power is Canada's insistence on following along. And John Baird's message reflects the fact that no matter how unreasonable the U.S. remains, Canada will refuse to be involved in any global initiative which its southern neighbour doesn't also back:

Environment Minister John Baird, speaking from a meeting in Germany of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations, also said any extension of the Kyoto protocol beyond 2012 must include the United States and other big developing nations.

"We very clearly said that any future global deal must include the United States, China and India," he said in a conference call with reporters after meeting his G8 counterparts.

What Baird leaves out as usual is the fact that all three of those countries signed and/or ratified Kyoto as well. Which should say all one needs to know about whether the objection is a legitimate one, or simply the most convenient excuse available for the Cons to obstruct any further progress.

With Japan also apparently taking a similar position, the current summit seems to have utterly ignored the EU's efforts to push for collective action. Instead, today's news only confirmed that key participants including Canada are happy to see nothing done as long as the Bush administration remains in office - and are willing to give the next U.S. administration an effective veto over any future agreements by insisting on American involvement.

To anybody wanting to see long-term action against climate change, that result can only be seen as a negative one. And if the Cons are entirely satisfied with the outcome, that must in turn be as a result of a combination of political posturing, and a lack of any real desire to deal with the greenhouse gas emissions on a global basis.