Vancouver, December 21, 2011 -Despite already low expectations going into the United Nations Climate Summit (COP 17) in Durban, South Africa, the only thing 194 nations could agree on was to keep working on a replacement to Kyoto.

More specifically, with the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, the world's major emitters have agreed to form a new climate deal by 2015 and to be legally bound by that agreement no later than 2020.

This outcome was largely driven by the European Union's campaign to work towards a "roadmap" for climate action - an agreement on process and timelines, if not necessarily the details of a final framework.

In the meantime, the EU and nine other nations will sign up to new emissions reduction pledges under an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, which is being called the second commitment period.

This is expected to run until 2017 or 2020 and will give the market for carbon trading some of the certainty it was lacking in the lead-up to COP 17. In a disappointing but unsurprising move, Canada chose to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol.

As part of the Canada's justification for its withdrawal from the protocol according to Environment Peter Kent was that the cost of complying with Kyoto would have been $13.6 billion in total, or $1,600 per family in Canada (or $400 per person). Many critics have questioned these figures.

Canada, Kent says, would have to purchase 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) offsets annually at the average price, according to Kent, of $19 per tonne. However, at current prices in the global carbon markets (roughly $6 per tonne), Kyoto compliance would cost less than $4.2 billion a year nationally or about $120 per Canadian citizen.

In 1990, the starting year for Kyoto, our GDP was $583 billion and in 1997, when Canada adopted Kyoto, the GDP was $614 billion. Today, Canada's GDP is $1.8 trillion with expansion of the energy sector having been a major driver of the economy over the past 20 years.

Policy experts and world thought-leaders will converge on this subject at GLOBE 2012, taking place March 14-16, 2012 in Vancouver, Canada, to try and provide some clarity on the successes and failures of current and proposed climate policy initiatives and cap-and-trade frameworks.

Get More information on GLOBE 2012 here

 A charge of between $120 and $400 per person to cover the impact of our incremental growth in the economy and in emissions, which Canadians appear to be willing to pay, sounds much more reasonable than Mr. Kent's suggestion.

With Russia and Japan also refusing to sign the extension, Kyoto will cover only 15% of the world's emissions during the second commitment period. The parties comprising the other 85% have agreed to voluntary reductions only until the legally binding plan can be agreed on and enforced by 2020.

Analysts say that even these existing pledges leave the planet 1 billion tonnes of carbon short of where we need to be to avoid the most damaging effects of climate change. Any Canadian action on seriously addressing climate change now relies upon provincial governments.

Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia (BC) are already showing leadership by moving to implement emissions reduction policies and carbon markets.

PICS News Scan - 20 December 2011 - Produced by ISIS, Sauder School of Business, UBC