NAIROBI, Kenya — French Environment Minister Nelly Olin says she is shocked by Canada's decision to renounce its emissions-cutting targets under the Kyoto Protocol.

But Environment Minister Rona Ambrose says Olin is meddling in Canadian domestic politics, reiterating that the Conservative government was left with an impossible challenge on the climate file because of the previous government's failure to take action.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, Canada is committed to cutting its greenhouse emissions six per cent from 1990 levels, but its emissions have actually risen 27 per cent since 1990.

Canada is the only country that has publicly repudiated its targets under the climate treaty, and French President Jacques Chirac has already made some scathing comments about countries that go back on their commitments.