TORONTO - Environment Minister John Baird says the Conservative government won't dismiss a newly passed law requiring Canada to respect its emissions-cutting commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
But he says he's not putting forward a new environment plan either.
Baird says the time for studying and developing new plans is over, and that the government is already moving on a "realistic'' plan to tackle climate change.
He says the government will follow through with the "technical letter'' of the bill, but won't waste another six months studying the issue and commissioning more reports.
The private members' bill gives the government 60 days to prepare a climate plan with measures to ensure that Canada meets its obligation under the Kyoto treaty. Those include a six-per-cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2012.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said his government's climate plan will curb greenhouse gases by 20 per cent by 2020, although three studies have debunked the plan since Baird released it in April.
