We Deserve To Be Taxed

I read a most interesting thing in The Globe and Mail yesterday:

The Prime Minister of France is urging the European Union to impose a punitive import tax on goods from countries such as Canada that refuse to sign on to a tougher second phase of the global warming deal.

Dominique de Villepin said countries that do not commit to new targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions should not be allowed to benefit by avoiding the costs associated with reducing global warming. He said France would make specific proposals for the European Union to discuss in the new year.

Bill Curry, The Globe And Mail, November 15th, 2006

So if non-Kyoto countries want to sell their exports to Europe, they'll suffer an import tax... It's a brilliant idea and if I could do anything to help it come through, I would. Canada and the United States should be punished financially for our own insistence on damaging the biosphere.

Unfortunately, the article goes on to state that the World Trade Organisation, an unelected body not responsible to the public, or the planet could prevent Europe from taking such action. Apparently, "WTO rules prevent foreign products from being treated differently from domestic ones". After all, economic growth trumps breathable air any day... at least in this country.