Environment committee  Minister, the now-leader of the Liberal Party, in July, was quoted as saying, “I will be part of Kyoto, but I will say to the world I don't think I will make it”. I read an interesting book called Hot Air: Meeting Canada's Climate Change Challenge, and it talks about the billions of dollars the previous Liberal government had planned to send over to buy hot air credits. It talked about all the political rhetoric and basically dealt with all political parties.

Environment committee  What studies have you actually conducted to understand the economic impacts of dangerous climate change for the Canadian economy?

Environment committee  I recently attended a meeting in Toronto at which Tom d'Aquino spoke and talked about the policy chaos that still exists within Canada with respect to climate change. He was speaking of previous regimes and also your government. Today in the House of Commons I asked you a question as to why the major emitters are cutting drastically their investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment committee  I would also like to hear his views on the comments made by Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Environment committee  Every single Liberal environment minister said that the Liberal Party and Stéphane Dion were not serious about climate change. Every single report shows that greenhouse gases skyrocketed under your term. I'm not going to take any lectures from a Liberal environment critic.

Environment committee  Steiner in response to the outcome in Montreal in September in respect to the accelerated freeze and phase-out of HCFCs, chemicals that damage the ozone layer but are increasingly recognized as contributing to global warming.” He goes on to say, “On the wider issue of climate change, Mr. Steiner has been on the record expressing concern about Canada's difficulties in achieving its targets under the UN climate convention's Kyoto Protocol and has urged them to show far greater leadership here.

Environment committee  Your National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, reporting directly to you, says that in virtually every part of the government's plan on climate change, the government has either overestimated the reductions of greenhouse gases or did not provide enough evidence to perform a proper analysis. Let's go on. Jeff Rubin, with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, two days ago said that your energy intensity targets are effectively incapable of limiting future growth in either energy demand growth or carbon emissions.

Environment committee  This meeting is held today pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), a study of Canada's position in advance of the United Nations climate change conference to be held in Bali. We're pleased today to welcome the Minister of the Environment, the Honourable John Baird. Mr. Baird, if I understand it, your plan is to speak for 30 minutes or less and then to entertain questions for an hour and a half.

Environment committee  I'm looking for a rule—a rule that's been applied to the way business is done in the energy sector in Canada—that says, “We're serious about climate change. Here's the rule. You must abide by it.” I can't find any.

Environment committee  The principle of common but differentiated responsibility you're referring to appears in both the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. That convention is still the framework for those negotiations. We must clearly continue to apply this principle, which is one of fairness. It is obvious that we won't be able to reach an agreement for after 2012 if this is not fair.

Environment committee  I would contrast this, for example, with the European Union, which has published a list of the elements it thinks should be contained in the post-2012 agreement. There's a list of about eight elements in the council conclusions on climate change from the Environment Council on October 30. Simply saying what Canada believes should be in the Bali mandate would be a step forward.

Environment committee  A year ago, at the age of 22, I helped to found the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition because with the levels of climate change we have already caused, I will spend the rest of my life dealing with adaptation and mitigation to a changed climate. It's a given. The Canada of my adulthood will be fundamentally different from the current one as a result of global emissions.

Environment committee  We need to look at the strategies of the World Bank and other major aid agencies in how they're integrating climate change. One final word. Keep in mind the relatively modest objective of the Bali mandate. We are talking about setting in motion a negotiating process for post-2012 that will, hopefully, be concluded in 2009, and it's important to demonstrate flexibility in that spirit.

Environment committee  I want to state my support for Prime Minister Harper's position, at least as I understand it, that the world does not need another international protocol that binds only a minority of the world's emitters to absolute greenhouse gas emission caps. I don't think the question is whether we need an international treaty on climate change--we do--the question is what shape the next generation of the Kyoto Protocol must take to address this global crisis. I'd like to look to history to answer this question. All nations, developed and developing, have previously accepted, and so far complied with, binding national obligations to eliminate whole product lines and industries in a process designed to address a global environmental disaster.

Environment committee  I'll just quickly follow up on Mr. Vellacott's point. As was pointed out, if I am to take climate change as an issue, which the Commissioner of the Environment obviously has much to do with, the expense was pointed out for inaction or failed action when it comes to climate change. I was asked yesterday by people from the lower mainland in Vancouver what adaptation would cost with a one- or two-metre rise in sea level for the lower mainland.