Food, shelter and fuel..Led by those three essentials, Canada’s emissions likely rose about 2% in 2022 for the third post-pandemic year in a row, according to the Canadian Climate Institute (CCI)..Through its 440 Megatonnes project — the level Canada would need to reach to meet its Paris Accord commitments — the CCI said emissions likely increased 15 megatonnes to 685 megatonnes overall..Emissions from oil and gas, buildings, agriculture, light manufacturing and transportation accounted for all of the expected increase; in every other sector emissions have fallen since 2005..That’s still 6% below 724 megatonnes in 2019 but up from 659 megatonnes at the height of the lockdowns in 2020..Despite the increase, overall emissions are down 6.4% from 2005 levels despite Canada’s pledges for a 40% to 45% reduction below 2005 levels by 2030..To reach the target, GHGs would have to fall a minimum of 5.4% each year between now and 2030..That has the group calling for the federal government to impose a hard cap on oil and gas production and the implementation of national building codes. It blamed a particularly colder winter in most parts of the country for the increase in emissions from buildings which indirectly tie to oil and gas..In fact, all the increases indirectly tie into oil and gas and energy..“The overall increases underscore the need for policy action and coordination at both a federal and provincial level. These include rapidly finalizing and implementing the forthcoming emissions cap for oil and gas, methane regulations, the Clean Electricity Regulations and Green Building Strategy, among others,” it said in a release..The guesstimates come a full eight months before official numbers are released by the federal government as part of its Paris-mandated national inventory report. And though they are preliminary, CCI’s previous estimates in 2021 proved to be accurate, it said..No surprise, it wants the federal government to use its estimates to inform punitive policy measures especially against the oil and gas sector..Emissions from oil and gas production have increased by 15.5% since 2005 — despite higher production — and now sit at 194 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent. Similarly, building sector emissions increased 8.8% from 2005 and total 92 Mt CO2e in 2022..“Acting quickly to cap emissions from oil and gas, reducing methane leaks and expanding clean electricity will accelerate our progress, while building a more prosperous and competitive future for Canada,” said CCI president Rick Smith..“When emissions from just two sectors, oil and gas and buildings, account for nearly three-quarters of the total increase in emissions last year, policy action for those sectors should be a top priority for all governments in Canada,” added CCI principal economist Dave Sawyer..Ironically, the biggest emissions reductions were in the electricity sector — or 52% since 2005 — which is the subject of similarly punitive regulations.
Food, shelter and fuel..Led by those three essentials, Canada’s emissions likely rose about 2% in 2022 for the third post-pandemic year in a row, according to the Canadian Climate Institute (CCI)..Through its 440 Megatonnes project — the level Canada would need to reach to meet its Paris Accord commitments — the CCI said emissions likely increased 15 megatonnes to 685 megatonnes overall..Emissions from oil and gas, buildings, agriculture, light manufacturing and transportation accounted for all of the expected increase; in every other sector emissions have fallen since 2005..That’s still 6% below 724 megatonnes in 2019 but up from 659 megatonnes at the height of the lockdowns in 2020..Despite the increase, overall emissions are down 6.4% from 2005 levels despite Canada’s pledges for a 40% to 45% reduction below 2005 levels by 2030..To reach the target, GHGs would have to fall a minimum of 5.4% each year between now and 2030..That has the group calling for the federal government to impose a hard cap on oil and gas production and the implementation of national building codes. It blamed a particularly colder winter in most parts of the country for the increase in emissions from buildings which indirectly tie to oil and gas..In fact, all the increases indirectly tie into oil and gas and energy..“The overall increases underscore the need for policy action and coordination at both a federal and provincial level. These include rapidly finalizing and implementing the forthcoming emissions cap for oil and gas, methane regulations, the Clean Electricity Regulations and Green Building Strategy, among others,” it said in a release..The guesstimates come a full eight months before official numbers are released by the federal government as part of its Paris-mandated national inventory report. And though they are preliminary, CCI’s previous estimates in 2021 proved to be accurate, it said..No surprise, it wants the federal government to use its estimates to inform punitive policy measures especially against the oil and gas sector..Emissions from oil and gas production have increased by 15.5% since 2005 — despite higher production — and now sit at 194 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent. Similarly, building sector emissions increased 8.8% from 2005 and total 92 Mt CO2e in 2022..“Acting quickly to cap emissions from oil and gas, reducing methane leaks and expanding clean electricity will accelerate our progress, while building a more prosperous and competitive future for Canada,” said CCI president Rick Smith..“When emissions from just two sectors, oil and gas and buildings, account for nearly three-quarters of the total increase in emissions last year, policy action for those sectors should be a top priority for all governments in Canada,” added CCI principal economist Dave Sawyer..Ironically, the biggest emissions reductions were in the electricity sector — or 52% since 2005 — which is the subject of similarly punitive regulations.
