Environment Minister John Baird heads to the Potsdam meeting of G8 ministers with the stated objective of bringing in the US, China, and India into the Kyoto process. He also says he doesn’t want to do anything that might jeapardise productivity, and doesn’t want to participate in an international emisisons market. Exactly why other countries would want to take measures that Canada refuses to abide by is not clear.

The Harper-Baird climate plan has been leaked to the press, and despite the fact that Baird promised it would be the most ambitious in the world, it is barely distinguishable from doing nothing at all.

The National Post explains how the Conservatives ignored the advice of a consultant they had previously called “one of Canada’s pre-eminent policy advisers in the area of climate change and industrial policy.”

The consultant, Mark Jaccard, has said that the Conservative scheme does not do enough to reduce greenhouse gas.

The Globe and Mail discloses today that an unreleased report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy says we must act now to price emissions. If the government does not implement a carbon tax or a cap and trade system, our economy could be seriously damaged in the future.

“If the government neglects to clearly communicate the [greenhouse gas] price schedule well in advance, it risks causing serious economic dislocation … because society’s capital stocks will not be well prepared,” the report warns.