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Ottawa (AFP) Sept 7, 2010 Canada's government Tuesday announced the appointment of a new chief negotiator and ambassador for climate change whose mandate will be to try implement agreements made at the talks in Copenhagen. "Our government is committed to working constructively to implement the Copenhagen Accord and to complete the negotiations for a comprehensive, legally binding post-2012 agreement," said Environment Minister Jim Prentice on announcing senior diplomat Guy Saint-Jacques for the post. "I am confident that Mr Saint-Jacques' extensive international experience will be invaluable as we work to achieve our goal," he added. Widely criticized by environmental groups for being beholden to oil industry interests, the conservative government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper had previously trashed the "unrealistic" commitments of the Kyoto Protocol. Ottawa has said it is committed to reducing by 2020 its emissions by three percent compared with 1990 figures, while emphasizing the need to reduce greenhouse gases in step with neighboring United States, Consistent with prior targets, however, critics point to other industrialized nations -- with the European Union leading the charge -- that have set targets of between 20 and 30 percent over that same time period. Saint-Jacques will represent Canada at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Mexico later this year, officials said. He replaces former top negotiator Michael Martin who led the Canadian delegation in Copenhagen in December 2009. Carbon-cutting pledges made under the Copenhagen Accord, under the auspices of the United Nations, set a target of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit). Scientists have warned however that the moves will likely to doom Earth to warming of three degrees C (5.4 degrees F ) or more, leading to potentially catastrophic consequences for populations in the coming decades. The accord also does not set a date for achieving the target or even stepping-stone targets for getting there, and the roster of pledges it sets up, gathering rich and poor countries alike, is voluntary.
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