if the federal government does not commit to the kyoto accord, should the provinces and why?

Answer 1

The Kyoto Accord is a crock. It does not require the PRC to limit its CO 2 emmissions, thus giving them an unfair advantage. The PRovinces/ States should not commit to it because they would shoot themselves in the foot. Industries in those states would thereby be forced to strap down emissions and would be negatively affected on the global scale.

Answer 2

There is an issue with USA sovreignty that not everyone understands. It is actually a tricky situation for the US Government to sign ANY treaties if they mandate specific behavior at a level other than the federal government itself.

See, the USA is the top layer of a constitutionally joined set of states that have their own sovreignty. There is a serious question about whether the states LOST their sovreignty when they ratified the U.S.Constitution. In general, when that question has come up, the answer has been "NO" (they did not relinquish all of their sovreignty.)

Therefore, when the US government signs a treaty, it is not always clear whether it is - or even CAN be - binding on the states. I believe Kyoto falls into that situation were it cannot be because of mandated behavior regarding issues that do not fall under the interstate commerce clauses that would resolve the sovreignty question.

It is true that Congress is the only body that has the power to approve treaties with other nations. But it is not true that Congress has the UNEQUIVOCAL power to bind the states into conforming to the terms of the treaties.

That said, Kyoto is a crock. It is an unabashed power grab by the have-nots using the excuse of pollution control as the means by which they intend to limit US industrial growth. They want to play catch-up by tricks of the rules rather than by fostering real growth within themselves. Sorry, but that's a load of crap that we don't need to sign.

Answer 3

I take your Canadian Y'all did ratify Kyoto I At one time only the U S and the country down under would not ratify Now it is America Alone [good book you might read}

Answer 4

No. The act of not signing a piece of paper does not mean that you will not adhere to the guidelines on that piece of paper.

Answer 5

we should not entertain that notion. the accord is flawed