BANFF, Alberta, Canada, April 15, 2002 (ENS) - "The state of the environment worldwide continues to degrade," environment ministers from the G-8 industrial countries concluded after their annual meeting. For two days behind closed doors, the ministers wrestled with the increasingly complex and urgent problem of global warming and the Kyoto climate protocol

The host, Canadian Environment Minister David Anderson, said after the meeting wound up Sunday that Canada will continue to push for clean energy export credits under the Kyoto Protocol, despite criticism from Europe, which favors achieving cuts in greenhouse gas emissions within the country responsible for the emissions.

The Canadian government sees the energy export credits as a way to the cut the cost of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.

According to opinion polls across Canada, a large majority of the population seems to support ratification, but energy producing businesses and provinces are more cautious. The federal government has not yet issued an official cost analysis, but the Alberta government and Canadian business groups have said it would cost billions of dollars and many thousands of jobs to agree to cut emissions of the six greenhouse gases linked to global warming under the Kyoto Protocol.

Anderson said Canada will unveil a formal proposal for the credit plan at a United Nations meeting in Whistler, British Columbia, next month.

He told reporters at a news conference Sunday, "There's no question that this issue becomes more critical for Canada because of the United States's withdrawal from the Kyoto process. And it is something that needs to be looked at on its merits and not on the basis of political position."

Margot Wallstrom, the European Union Environment Commissioner, said the clean fuel credits would not be granted.

"Against the background of the intense political discussions in Canada on the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, I took the opportunity to raise this issue bilaterally with Minister Anderson," Wallstrom said. "I underlined the European view that there is no scope to reopen the negotiations to allow Canada further credits for exporting clean energy to the USA, however important it is to encourage such forms of energy."

Wallstrom said, "We think this ... would completely change the whole structure and architecture of the Kyoto Protocol."

"It would be really sad if Canada wouldn't ratify in the end. The blame should not be on us, who are inside the Kyoto Protocol," she said, "but rather to push the Americans to come back on board."

In their joint communique following the meeting, all eight ministers reaffirmed "the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet the pressing global environmental challenge of climate change with global participation."

"We are determined to take the lead by taking strong actions, in fulfillment of our commitments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and in furthering its ultimate objective," they said.

"For most countries, this means timely entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, with many ratifications by the World Summit; for other countries, it means taking strong, realistic domestic actions."

The eight ministers agreed to reinforce their exchange of information and best practices, in particular in the field of climate change research and development.

Front row, left to right: Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom; Jürgen Trittin Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany; David Anderson, Minister of the Environment, Canada; Maxim Yakovenko, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources, Russian Federation; Hiroshi Ohki, Minister of the Environment, Ministry of the Environment, Japan.
Back row, left to right: Margot Wallström, Commissioner for the Environment, European Commission; Altero Matteoli, Minister of the Environment and Territory, Italy; Christine Todd Whitman, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USA; Yves Cochet; Minister of Land Use Planning and Environment, France. (Photo courtesy Government of Canada)

"The World Summit must arrive at action oriented outcomes, effectively responding to the new challenges that have arisen since the Rio Summit," the eight ministers said in their communique. "It should strongly reinforce Agenda 21," they said.

"We are making every effort to ensure the early entry into force and implementation of multilateral environmental conventions and protocols," the ministers said.

Childrens' health was of particular concern, the ministers said, both in their own countries and globally, "in the face of growing environmental pressures, notably from polluted air, water and soil, and the effects of climate change, growth of the transportation sector, chemical use and urban development."

Policies should be based "on the precautionary approach," they pledged, "as set forth in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration.

"Contaminated water and inadequate sanitation cause a large proportion of ill health and disease in the developing world, leading to millions of deaths each year, particularly among children," the ministers stated.

Minister Anderson told reporters, "We live in a world where a child dies from a waterborne disease every 10 seconds and a fifth of all the burden of disease may be associated with environmental factors."

Finally, the ministers supported more secure funding for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and a strengthening of its role in international governance.

"We underline the urgent need to improve the financial situation of UNEP, which remains hampered by insufficient and unpredictable resources,"the ministers said, "by such ways as providing UNEP with more predictable funding, a broadened base of contributions, more efficient and effective use of available resources, and greater mobilization of resources from the private sector and other major groups."

The G-8 is an informal group of eight major industrial democracies – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States plus the European Union – who meet annually to hold policy forums on key economic, social, political, and environmental issues they face at home and internationally.