A man ponders an art installation in Copenhagen on December 11, 2009.
On the eve of the Copenhagen conference, as some will recall, Guardian columnist George Monbiot wrote: "The immediate threat to the global effort to sustain a peaceful and stable world comes not from Saudi Arabia or Iran or China. It comes from Canada."
Notably, in his column in today's edition of the paper, Mr. Monbiot no longer singles out Canada. But whether the Harper government is solely responsible for it or not, here's his assessment of the Kyoto accord: "In 2012 the only global deal for limiting greenhouse gas emissions - the Kyoto protocol - expires. There is no realistic prospect that it will be replaced before it elapses."
As James Travers reminds us in today's Toronto Star, the accord in Kyoto was " so recklessly signed" by the Chretien government. For Canada to be freed from a continuation of the obligations in it - obligations that were little understood or even investigated at the time - must go down as good news indeed.