"It is now widely understood that, because of inaction on greenhouse gases over the last decade, Canada's emissions cannot be brought to the level required under the Kyoto Protocol within the compliance period which begins ... just 77 days from now,'' says the speech from the throne.
That declaration might be enough to trigger a federal election.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has staked his reputation on his record as environment minister and on his passionate defence of the Kyoto Protocol -- he went so far as to name his dog after the pact.
The Liberals continue to insist that Canada should make every effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff declared after the speech that Prime Minister Stephen Harper had "walked away'' from Kyoto's international responsibilities.
Still, the black-and-white admission that Canada would not meet its targets is not a surprise.
When the government was forced to respond to a new Kyoto implementation law, passed with the support of the opposition in the spring, Harper's Conservatives made it clear they did not feel it was feasible for the government to meet its greenhouse-gas reduction targets.
One of Dion's political allies, Green party Leader Elizabeth May, said she found nothing particularly shocking about the government's statement on Kyoto.
May has conceded that meeting Kyoto would be difficult with no program yet in force to require industrial emitters to reduce.
"After almost two years of Harper sabotaging global action and domestic action -- we knew a year ago we couldn't meet Kyoto,'' said May.
"It's an attempt to sound like they're committed to climate change, which we know they're not, but he hasn't used language that has made the implicit explicit, so on that basis, it's not as bad as I thought.''
Jean Langlois of the Sierra Club of Canada disagrees that Canada cannot meet its targets. He says Canada can still be in compliance by doing its best and then taking on penalties for whatever reductions it cannot complete.
"To say that it is unattainable is a statement of philosophy, it's not a factual statement.''
The speech underlines that the government intends to reduce greenhouse gases 20 per cent by 2020 over 2006 levels through its latest environmental plan. That commitment that has been deemed doubtful by groups as diverse as the C.D. Howe Institute and the Pembina Institute.
The Conservatives also vowed to press for an international agreement that cuts global emissions in half by 2050, although it does not specify whether the second phase of Kyoto being guided by the United Nations is the right approach.
Where the Conservatives are getting more positive feedback is on their promise of a new water strategy.
The speech is short on specifics, but refers to a new strategy that would "help clean up our major lakes and oceans and to improve access to safe drinking water for First Nations.''
"It's a positive development. The country is in dire need of a serious examination of its water systems,'' said Liberal Environment critic David McGuinty.
Aaron Freeman of Environmental Defence says such a water pollution strategy would be long overdue, particularly if it touches on the heavily polluted Great Lakes. He notes that 35 million people draw their drinking water from the lakes.
"We are playing a serious game of catch-up with the Americans on pollution in the Great Lakes,'' said Freeman.
"They are billions of dollars and years ahead of us. ... We have nothing that approaches that scale, we haven't even done the math.''
Said Langlois of the Sierra Club: "If that means a blueprint for action, that's a good thing. If it means verbiage, not so much.''
Two pages of the speech from the throne are dedicated to the environment, a clear indication of just how important an issue it has become on the political landscape.
Harper's first speech from the throne, in April 2006, featured a single mention of the environment with a vague promise to make `tangible'' progress in reducing smog and greenhouse gases.
