Efforts in Canada to curb climate change would have little effect on the country’s economy, according to two new reports, one by the national Department of Finance and another by the think tank Informetrica Ltd. The reports found that reducing Canadian greenhouse gas emissions 6 percent from 1990 levels by 2010, the nation’s target under the Kyoto climate change treaty, would result in a drop of between 0.6 percent and 3 percent in a gross domestic product that is expected to increase by about 30 percent in the next decade. The Canadian government will consider the studies’ findings as it decides on its negotiating position for the international climate change meeting to take place this November at The Hague, Netherlands. Meanwhile, a new poll shows that Canadian citizens support significant action to combat global warming. Eighty-three percent of poll respondents believe that severe weather events are related to climate change.
