Kyoto always was a fantasy

The interview had a surreal air of unreality. Mr. Dion, who’s hosting the giant climate conference that started yesterday in Montreal, is the environment minister of a defunct government. But that’s not the weird part. The weird part is watching everyone involved — Mr. Dion, the CBC, the environmental groups, the 10,000 delegates to Montreal, and the world media — pretend that the Kyoto treaty isn’t dead, even though it’s obviously as defunct as John Cleese’s parrot.

Naturally, you won’t get anyone in Ottawa to say so. Kyoto is popular with voters, who have no idea what it’s really all about but do believe in saving the environment. Also, hosting the climate conference is thought to be good for our international image. Not to mention that 10,000 visitors on expense accounts is nothing to sneeze at.

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