Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continued to increase in 2022, according to the most recent available data released this Thursday by the federal government. And more than ever, the fossil fuel industry constitutes the heavyweight of the Canadian balance sheet.
Canada produced 708 million tonnes (Mt) of GHGs in 2022, an increase of approximately 10 Mt tonnes compared to the previous year, the balance of which was revised upwards to take into account in particular a portrait most accurate measurement of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
This report also demonstrates that this industry weighs heavily in the balance of emissions which fuel the climate crisis, with a total of 217 Mt. It represents 31% of all GHG emissions in the country, ahead of the transport sector ( 156 Mt), historically very polluting.
It must be said that emissions from the fossil fuel sector have experienced strong growth for several years, in particular due to the increased production of tar sands. Since 1990, the increase has been around 90%. In 2022, the main source of emissions from the sector came from the oil sands, with 87Mt.
However, the Trudeau government hopes to tackle industrial GHGs by establishing an emissions capping system for industry. However, this cap will not be imposed before 2030 and it provides the “flexibility” necessary to allow companies to increase production, particularly in the oil sands sector.
The Canadian oil industry has planned a further increase in investment in production this year, an increase which is stimulated by the end of the construction of new infrastructure intended to facilitate the export of its production, including the Trans Mountain pipeline, which has come into operation Wednesday.
Furthermore, Canada still remains far from its GHG reduction target for 2030, set at a decline of 40% to 45% compared to the 2005 level. But Ottawa assures that it is “on the path to achieving the objective” of 2030, due to existing and future measures.
The government estimates, however, that despite the increase in GHGs between 2021 and 2022, the new report shows that Canada continued to maintain emissions below the levels of 2019, the last year of economic activity before the slowdowns linked to the pandemic. “This is remarkable given that economic and demographic growth was strong in 2021 and 2022,” specifies the press release published Thursday.
More details to come.