The federal government will soon reveal a new plan to fight climate change and wants to join international talks on measures that go beyond the Kyoto Protocol, Environment Minister John Baird told members of the Group of Eight meeting in Germany on Saturday.

Canada has been taking grief from some G8 members on climate issues in light of new targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions set by the European Union last week.

EU leaders announced they would reduce emissions in their region by 20 per cent by 2020 and offered to go to 30 per cent if countries such as the United States and Canada follow suit.

Baird told G8 ministers that although Canada is not following through with Kyoto commitments, it's still taking climate change seriously and will introduce binding targets to reduce carbon emissions.

"One of the key points Canada made is that global actions must be guided by two principles — environmental sustainability and global prosperity — in order to ensure our global success on the protection of our planet for future generations," he said.

"Environmental protection and economic growth go hand in hand and it's key that we assume our responsibilities."

The plan will probably be unveiled in the next two to three weeks, the minister told CBC's David Common.

"Canada will probably be going further in the next five years than any country in the world," Baird said at the end of the three-day meeting in Potsdam, on the outskirts of Berlin.

Critical of Liberal emissions plan

Baird said he thinks the Conservatives' plan will "look rather favourable compared to the weak effort" by the Liberals made in their program announced by party leader Stéphane Dion on Friday.

"We'll be coming forward with regulations for all industrial sectors in the coming weeks and there will be obviously targets for industry across the board," he said.

"I'm concerned that Mr. Dion's plan looks like a money grab, with very little pressure or focus on actual emissions reduction."

He also touted a series of initiatives the Conservatives have recently announced.

"We're taking action. We've got billions of dollars we're deploying right across the country. [We're] working co-operatively with the provinces, whether it's a hydrogen highway in British Columbia, more geothermal in Quebec, or a national electricity grid between Manitoba and other provinces, like Ontario.

"We also told [G8 members] about our plan to bring in mandatory industrial regulations for all sectors in Canadian industry — a really significant action."

Besides environment ministers from the Group of Eight, the meeting also included representatives from China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.