"Canada's new government has already abandoned Kyoto," lamented Matthew Bramley of the Pembina Institute in an interview with AFP.

The troubled sentiment was echoed by several environmental groups who pressed Harper earlier this month in an open letter to develop a clear plan to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Canada, despite ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, has increased its carbon dioxide emissions by some 30 percent from a base 1990 level, far from its 2012 target of a six percent reduction, according to UN and Canadian estimates.

The protocol imposes CO2 reductions on industrialized countries.

Pundits said Ottawa's hesitation to act is fueled by the robust economy, driven in large part by petroleum extraction, a big source of air pollutants, in Alberta province's vast oil sands, the world's second-largest oil deposit behind Saudi Arabia.

Harper, whose political base is in Alberta, has already deemed Canada's Kyoto targets "impossible" to meet and several observers fear that he will align himself on climate matters with the United States, which has not ratified the protocol.

"I have said all along that Canada would not achieve the Kyoto targets. Canada could not achieve them, and that's just the reality, but we do want to make progress," Harper said on Wednesday.

Later, he announced his government would unveil a "made in Canada plan" to deal with air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, but noted Canada's efforts would have little impact without US participation.

Bramley countered: "Once we say that something is unattainable, it's a way of saying that we aren't even going to try to reach it."

"Mr. Harper does not have a Kyoto plan or a plan B and he is trying to destroy the only plan that we do have," said Steven Guilbeault, director of Greenpeace in Quebec province.

The Globe and Mail newspaper, citing secret cabinet documents, reported this month that Harper planned to dramatically slash government spending on existing climate change programs to help pay for proposed tax cuts.

Harper denied the report, telling reporters his government had only cut a "small number of programs that were scheduled to expire".

His government later announced 15 such programs were cut.

Ninety top scientists in Canada also pressed Harper this week to tackle climate change now or risk devastating consequences for the country's ecosystems, economy and society, citing international research.

"We urge you and your government to develop an effective national strategy to deal with the many important aspects of climate that will affect both Canada and the world in the near future," they said in an open letter posted on the website of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers blasted Harper's Conservatives in the House of Commons for trying to unravel the unanimous support among Canadians for Kyoto and besieged him to unveil his alternate plans to reduce CO2 emissions.

Harper's reluctance to move on Kyoto may prove more difficult when next month Rona Ambrose, Canada's new environment minister, presides over a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany.

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