Catastrophe wouldn't befall Canada if it complied with Kyoto: critics

The proceeding was being billed as the first time a country has been challenged in court for failing to meet its commitments to combat global warming.

Lawyers representing environmental crusaders Friends of the Earth said the government has missed three deadlines and several obligations under Canada's Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. The act sets out requirements for publication of a climate change plan and effective and timely action on Kyoto.

Lawyer Chris Paliare said the government shouldn't be allowed to "pick and choose" which laws it implements and insisted that no "doomsday scenario" would result if Canada cut its greenhouse gases according to Kyoto's targets.

"There's no evidence to support bald assertions ... the horrific consequences that (Minister of the Environment John Baird) asserts," Paliare said.

Baird insisted that Canadians would be delivered a "crushing blow" if Kyoto was implemented and said the government would be forced to hike gas prices by 50 cents at the pump.

"The fact is, I don't want any senior citizen to have to choose between filling their refrigerator, their prescription, or their home heating fuel tank," Baird said in an e-mailed statement.

A Department of Justice lawyer argued in court that the Kyoto act is one of a few "unusual" statutes that Parliament never intended the courts to enforce.

"It is up for Parliament to decide ... whether or not the government should be allowed to explain it is simply too late for Kyoto to be complied with and would cause too much economic devastation," lawyer Peter Southey told the judge.

Southey said Baird gave careful consideration to the act, determining it's impossible to meet. Nonetheless, Ottawa wants to remain one of 180 countries who ratified the international agreement, he said.

Paliare is seeking a court order that would compel the federal government to meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.

Canada would have to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.

The Conservative federal government's own plan to fight climate change calls for reduced emissions based on 2006 levels by 2020 or 2025.

Beatrice Olivastri, the Friends of the Earth CEO, said the group is fighting on behalf of Canadians who want the country to improve its environmental record.

"This case, we hope, will determine that our government must act according to the will of the people on climate change," she said.

A ruling on the case is expected by the end of the summer.