Canada Withdraws From Kyoto Protocol

In what's being seen as a major blow to the fight against climate change, Canada yesterday formally withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, the greenhouse gas reduction agreement among most of the world's nations. The United States signed the treaty in 1998, but the GOP has successfully blocked its ratification ever since.

Environment Minister Peter Kent said that Canada is invoking its legal right to withdraw and said Kyoto doesn’t represent the way forward for Canada or the world.“The Kyoto Protocol does not cover the world’s largest two emitters, United States and China, and therefore cannot work,” Kent said. “It’s now clear that Kyoto is not the path forward to a global solution to climate change. If anything it’s an impediment.” Kent’s announcement comes a day after marathon climate talks wrapped up in the South African port city of Durban. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries agreed on a deal that sets the world on a path to sign a new climate treaty by 2015 to replace the first Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of next year.

China, while having signed the treaty, is exempt from its rules due to their highly controversial designation as a "developing country." Climate change deniers are triumphantly tweeting Canada's decision.