Looking after the environment is very important. However, there is no doubt that the Left are using it to try and advance their own agenda. It amazes me how they often pick on Australia because it has not ratified Kyoto. They invariably claim that the current drought and recent bushfires are caused by global warming. The facts are that Australia has always been a land of droughts and floods. As for the bushfires, they have been around so long that some plant species won't germinate unless subjected to fire. As for the temperatures getting hotter, I have never known such a mild summer.
The Canadian Liberal government did ratify Kyoto, and our emissions still went up, even more than they rose in the US in the same time period.