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The Conservative government said yesterday it would produce a plan to comply with Kyoto if forced to, a dramatic shift from the previous day when it dismissed legislation passed by opposition MPs that would require Canada to meet the protocol's targets for reducing greenhouse gases.

The legislation, introduced by a Liberal MP, calls on the government to present a plan to Parliament within 60 days outlining how Canada will meet its Kyoto targets. It must still be approved by the Liberal-dominated Senate.

"If and when that becomes law, the government would respect it," Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons. "I would point out that the bill has no plan of action in it. The bill gives the government no authority to spend any money to actually have a plan of action."

The Prime Minister also chastised Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion for supporting the bill without also putting forward a plan to achieve the targets of a 6-per-cent emissions drop from 1990 levels by 2012.

"I guess this is what the Leader of the Liberal Party has come to. He failed so badly on his own plan, he is now asking us to produce one for him," he said.

The Prime Minister's change in tone drew cautious praise from NDP Leader Jack Layton.

"Finally, for the first time today, we got some indication that he might actually be prepared to respect our Kyoto obligations," he said yesterday.

"We've been demanding this since day one and it looks as though perhaps a corner has begun to be turned," Mr. Layton continued.

"We'll have to see in the budget. We'll have to see in the actions that he takes whether he's serious," he said.

The government and opposition have been deadlocked over Kyoto, with the opposition saying the targets are within reach and the government warning it is too late to comply without triggering economic havoc.

But there are signs the government is shifting its position so that Canada would meet its Kyoto targets, but later than the 2012 deadline.

Environment Minister John Baird noted recently that the B.C. government's plan for meeting Kyoto uses 2020 as a target date. He has asked his department to estimate how much it would cost Canada to continue into Kyoto's second, post-2012 phase, having not met the targets in the first phase.

The protocol allows countries to fall short of the targets provided they accept tougher targets than others in the second round. However, talks on a post-2012 phase are stalled.

Mr. Harper has supported calls for an emergency meeting on the issue and has said the Group of Eight is well placed to spur those discussions.

The NDP has been urging the government to consider that scenario and has suggested that may be acceptable if there are clear signs of serious effort toward the Kyoto targets.

The Conservatives will need the support of at least one opposition party to avoid being defeated over next month's budget, which is expected to include several spending announcements dealing with climate change and the environment.

Mr. Dion rejected the Prime Minister's suggestions that his party does not have a plan to meet Kyoto.

"We had a plan in April, 2005, as you know and the cost was there. It was over eight budgets, $10-billion," he said.

"The Prime Minister destroyed the plan of April, 2005. We waste a year. He cuts and he slashed billions of dollars. The only leader of a developed country who did it. So he must now come with a comprehensive plan to honour our international commitment under the Kyoto Protocol."

Former environment commissioner Johanne Gélinas concluded in a report in September that it was "difficult to say" whether Mr. Dion's plan would have been enough for Canada to meet its Kyoto obligations.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said Quebec is now on track to meet Kyoto and the costs for the rest of the country should be borne by industry.

"I think the oil companies, as an example, have enough money to pay for what they are responsible for," he said.

"I think the question is more importantly how much it will cost if we don't face Kyoto. That would be the question."

Greener pastures

Outlined below are the strategies each party has created to address climate change.

The Conservative plan

Total Cost: Will be revealed in next month's budget.

Environment Minister John Baird has said meeting Kyoto's 2012 targets at this point would cause "economic collapse" because the Liberals allowed emissions to rise too high.

Mandatory regulations will soon be announced requiring reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions from all industry, including the automotive sector.

The budget is expected to include a host of environmental initiatives. The Prime Minister has already announced a $1.5-billion EcoTrust to finance large projects in the provinces that reduce greenhouse gases.

An EcoEnergy Renewable Initiative, worth $1.5-billion over 10 years, was announced to encourage more renewable power production.

Budget 2006 contained tax credits amounting to two months of free bus passes for citizens who buy passes each month.

The Liberal plan Stéphane Dion said yesterday he stands by his 2005 Project Green plan for honouring Canada's Kyoto commitments, but will be updating it shortly.

Total Cost: $10-billion

Key elements include the following:

Large Final Emitter System: Regulations would set maximum emission levels for each industrial facility in the country. Companies that are under the target could sell emission credits to companies that are over the target, creating a financial incentive to reduce emissions.

Partnership Fund: Between $2-billion and $3-billion to finance projects jointly with the provinces to reduce greenhouse gases.

Climate Fund: Between $4-billion and $5-billion for technology that reduces greenhouse gases and to buy foreign and domestic emission credits.

Automobile Industry: A voluntary agreement with the auto industry to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 5.3 megatonnes.

Renewable Energy: $1.8-billion over 15 years to encourage more wind and renewable power.

The New Democratic plan

Total Cost: $15.1-billion (net cost of $6.7-billion over seven years after cancelling the capital cost allowance for the oil sands)

The plan is divided into five parts:

A greener homes strategy, including energy retrofit projects: $1.3-billion over seven years.

A greener communities strategy, including reductions in landfill emissions and funds for municipal projects: $5.4-billion over seven years.

A greener transportation strategy, including GST rebates on the purchase of low-emission cars: $2.8-billion over seven years.

A greener industry strategy, including caps on industrial emissions and an end to oil-sands subsidies: saving $8.4-billion over seven years.

A greener Canada and the world, including incentives for renewable power and earning Kyoto credits through investments in the developing world that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: $5.6-billion over five years.