Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrives in Copenhagen for the United Nations climate-change summit on Thursday Dec. 17, 2009.
After Canada took a public relations beating all week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to keep a low profile on his first day at the Copenhagen climate summit.
Leaders such as Britain's Gordon Brown, France's Nicolas Sarkozy, and Germany's Angela Merkel addressed the plenary sessions of the summit in the cavernous Bella Centre, and held informal press scrums as they dashed to meetings with other leaders.
In contrast, Mr. Harper huddled with officials for briefings away from the centre, did not speak publicly, and did not meet with other leaders until the gala dinner hosted by Denmark's Queen and Prince Consort.
It fell to Environment Minister Jim Prentice to deliver Canada's official statement to the plenary sessions, a brief appearance that was scheduled for late in the evening here, just prior to a scheduled address by U.S. special envoy, Todd Stern.
Mr. Prentice insisted the Prime Minister was "fully engaged" in the summit proceedings, but had asked him to address the meeting.
The Prime Minister will attend the plenary and leaders' lunch on Friday, scheduled to be the final day of a two-week effort to hammer out a new international agreement to combat climate change. U.S. President Barack Obama was scheduled to arrive for the final negotiating session amid last-ditch efforts to secure a deal.
Mr. Harper has staked out a difficult position at Copenhagen - arguing there is little room for Canada to toughen its commitments to reduce emissions, insisting that China and other emerging economies agree to binding targets; rejecting the 1990 base year against which emission reductions would be measures, and refusing to make a specific pledge of financial aide for the developing world.
His government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020, but that would leave Canada well above the 1990 targets it agreed to under Kyoto.
Mr. Prentice said Canada is eager to conclude an agreement in Copenhagen that includes all major emitters, and notes Ottawa's targets are on par with those of the United States.
Developing countries have said the industrialized nations must cut emission by 25 per cent to 40 per cent below 1990 levels, while environment groups have singled out Canada for criticism due to its sharply rising emissions since 1990 and its negotiating stand at Copenhagen.