Canada's greenhouse-gas emissions hit five-year high in 2013: federal report

Just in time for Earth Day on April 22, the federal government has released its annual report on the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions.

According to the document prepared by Environment Canada, 2013 took the country to a five-year high for the amount of pollution we collectively contributed to the Earth’s atmosphere.

“In 2013, the most recent annual dataset in this report, Canada’s total GHG emissions were estimated to be 726 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2 eq4), excluding Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry estimates,” it states. “The Energy Sector (consisting of the Stationary Combustion Sources, Transport, and Fugitive Sources subsectors) accounted for the majority of Canada’s total GHG emissions in 2013, at 81% or 588 Mt.”

An email the Straight received from Thomas Pedersen, executive director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions at the University of Victoria, emphasized this level of greenhouse-gas emissions puts Canada on track to violate its international commitments on air pollution.

“The Prime Minister declared at the Copenhagen COP meeting in 2010 that Canada would meet a target of a 17% reduction by 2020 from 2005 levels,” he wrote. “Given the current and continuing trends, we haven’t a hope of meeting that target.”

Pedersen also noted the report happened to be published during the time of the week when it was least likely to receive attention from media and the public.

“I’m sure it was just coincidence that the release coincided with a Friday afternoon,” he added.

The report was prepared by Environment Canada in accordance with the country's obligations as a signatory to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.