As a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, Canada has committed to cutting global warming emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. But emissions have climbed, and the northerly nation is nervous about forest fires that release carbon dioxide (CO2) back into the air when the trees burn, thus increasing CO2 emissions even more. As a result, Canada has decided to cut its forests from global warming emissions calculations completely.

This also means that Canada won't count forests as a CO2 absorber or "sink," either. That's just fine for some scientists: According to the Toronto Star, for three years between 1990 and 2004, trees were a net source of emissions rather than a CO2 sink.

“Government scientists made the call after learning of the damage that could come to forests from 2008 to 2012 and realizing the forests could become another source of emissions, pushing Canada even further from its Kyoto targets.”

Insect infestations have contributed to forest fires also: an insect like the mountain pine beetle burrows into a tree and prevents it from drawing water, killing it and turning it into kindling.

The Kyoto Protocol gives nations the option of using agricultural land and managed forests (ones that are regularly cut down and replanted) in their emissions calculations. Although forests should theoretically be a great source of storing carbon in such a forested country like Canada, a hotter planet has changed that assumption.

Some environmentalists are angry about the decision, saying Canada is skirting its Kyoto responsibility.

A spokesman for Environment Minister John Baird said that the decision to not count forests only applies to Kyoto’s first commitment period, which ends in 2012. After that, Canada may reassess its decision.

The Toronto Star, via the Daily Canuck