The Asia-Pacific Partnership On Clean Development And Climate: Canada´s Newest (Potential) Climate Change Weapon

The new federal government has recently made it clear that it does not believe Canada will be able to abide by reductions in greenhouse gases ("GHGs"), as mandated under the Kyoto Protocol and committed by the previous government, of 6% below 1990 levels by 2012. Instead, the government is proposing a "Made-in-Canada" plan to be tabled in the fall and, more recently, has hinted at joining the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (the "AP6").

The AP6 currently comprises six member countries: the United States, Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea (the "Partnership"). Signed on January 12, 2006, the AP6 has been described by the signatories as a "new partnership to develop, deploy and transfer cleaner, more efficient technologies and to meet national pollution reduction, energy security and climate change concerns." Currently, Partnership economies account for 54% of global economic output, 45% of global population, 48% of global energy use and 50% of