A U.K.-based company is refusing to buy products from Canada following the Conservative government's decision to formally withdraw from the Kyoto accord.

The Glass Factory recently cancelled its contract with ThinkGlass, a company based in Boisbriand, Que.

The Kyoto Protocol, which expires next year, committed major industrial economies to reducing their annual CO2 emissions to below 1990 levels, while providing financial supports to developing nations to encourage them to follow suit eventually. Canada ratified the accord in 1997 but was not on track to meet its legally binding targets.

Environment Minister Peter Kent has said the decision to withdraw will save the government an estimated $14 billion in penalties. The federal government said it had no choice given the economic situation.

The Conservatives have committed to 17 per cent cuts from 2005 levels by 2020, a much lower threshold to meet than cutting below 1990 emissions levels.

Chris Barrington-Leigh, an economist at Montreal's McGill's University, predicted Tuesday that an increasing number of green companies will cut Canadian imports.