Canada will pull out of the Kyoto protocol on climate change, Environment Minister Peter Kent said on Monday, dealing a symbolic blow to the troubled global treaty.

Canada will become the first country to formally withdraw from Kyoto, which it says is badly flawed because it does not cover all major emitters of greenhouse gasses.

The news came as little surprise, especially since Kent said last month that "Kyoto is the past." The right-of-center Conservatives took power in 2006 and made it clear they would not stick to Canada's Kyoto commitments.

"As we've said, Kyoto for Canada is in the past ... We are invoking our legal right to formally withdraw from Kyoto," Kent told reporters after returning from talks in Durban, South Africa, on extending the protocol.

He gave no details on when exactly Ottawa would pull out, but said Canada would be subject to enormous financial penalties under the terms of the treaty unless it withdrew.

The announcement will do little to help Canada's growing reputation as an international renegade on the climate. Green groups awarded the country their Fossil of the Year award for its performance in Durban.

Ottawa says it backs a new global deal to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, but insists it has to cover all nations.

Canada's former Liberal government signed on to Kyoto, which obliged the country to cut emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. By 2009 emissions were 17 percent above the 1990 levels.

Kent says the Liberals should not have signed up to a treaty they had no intention of respecting.

Environmentalists quickly blasted Kent for his comments.

"Mr Kent does not understand what he is sentencing our children to. Catastrophic climate change will cost them far more," said John Bennett, executive director of the Sierra Club Canada.

加拿大环境部长彼得•肯特本周一宣布，加拿大将退出有关气候变化的《京都议定书》，这对目前麻烦不断的这一全球条约来说无疑是沉重打击。

加拿大将成为正式退出《京都议定书》的国家，并称该条约有严重漏洞，并未覆盖全部的温室气体排放大国。

加拿大的退出在人们的预料之中，特别是自上月肯特说出“《京都议定书》对加拿大而言已经成为过去”之后。中间偏右的加拿大保守党自2006年上台后，明确表态不会遵守加拿大对于《京都议定书》所作的承诺。

肯特从南非德班的气候会议返回后告诉记者：“《京都议定书》对加拿大而言已经成为过去，我们将行使我们的合法权利正式退出。”南非德班气候会议旨在延长《京都议定书》的承诺期。

肯特没有给出加拿大退出的准确时间，但表示如果不退出，按照目前的协议条款，加拿大将面临巨额罚款。

加拿大在气候保护方面的“国际叛徒”的名气越来越大，而肯特的表态更恶化了这一形象。由于在德班的表现，加拿大还获评环保组织评选的“年度顽固不化奖”。

加拿大表示支持新的温室气体减排条约，但坚称这一条约必须覆盖全部国家。

此前，加拿大自由党政府签署加入《京都议定书》，承诺截至2012年，在1990年的基础上减排6%。但截至2009年，加拿大的温室气体排放仍然比1990年高出17%。

肯特表示，自由党本就不该签署一份自己都不重视的条约。

环保人士迅速对肯特的评论予以抨击。

加拿大塞拉俱乐部的常务董事约翰•本奈特说：“肯特先生不明白他给我们的孩子宣判了什么。灾难性的气候变化会让他们付出更惨重的代价。”

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