5 to 8% below their emission levels of 1990, by the year 2012. Canada's target is to reach emission levels of 6% below those of 1990 by the period between 2008 and 2012. Expected to ratify next week, Canada will be the latest country to ratify the Accord, which legally binds its signatories to their respective targets, although to what extent they are legally bound and what penalties exist for those who fail to meet their requirements are some of the details that have yet to be worked out. .
Canada's position on the Accord and its mechanisms to achieve its targets are outlined in the Liberals Action Plan which was revealed in 2000. As stated in the Plan, Canada intends to attain its target levels by actions taken domestically, such as the development and innovation of environmentally friendly industrial and manufacturing practices, and internationally, by selling "credits" to other countries that need them to attain their own respective targets. .
Like all other signatories, Canada will seek to lower its costs of implementing the Accord by using the mechanisms provided therein such as buying and selling credits, and the potential to earn credits by the creation and maintenance of "sinks" which are referred to in the Protocol as forests and agricultural soils that have the quality of removing or absorbing GHG's from the atmosphere. There are 3 mechanisms provided in the Kyoto Accord that allow countries to earn or buy credits. The first is known as The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which is a way to earn credits by investing in emission reduction projects in developing counties. The second is known as Joint Implementation (JT) , and allows countries to earn credits by investing in emission reduction projects in other counties that are also Kyoto signatories. And the third is International Emissions Trading (IET), whereby countries who have taken on a Kyoto target can buy and sell credits among themselves (6).
