Canada emissions rose in 2022 but ‘on track’ for 2030 goal: govt

By

 AFP

Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions rose in 2022 from a pandemic dip the prior year but were still 7.1 percent below a 2005 benchmark, a government report showed Thursday.

Annual total emissions — including carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gasses — were 708 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent, or 7.1 percent below revised 2005 levels.

“The report shows that Canada remains on track to meet our emission reduction goals of 2026 and on track towards 2030,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said at a news conference.

Canada has committed to reducing emissions by 40-45 percent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade.

The government report however showed that emissions had risen over 2021, as the economy roared back to life from Covid-19 pandemic disruptions, with increases in the transportation sector, the construction and housing sector and parts of the oil and gas industry.

Guilbeault acknowledged the emissions increase, but insisted the overall trend was curving downward.

The report showed that despite the total emissions increase in 2022, a metric of emissions per GDP had continued to steadily decline.

The oil and gas sector remained by far Canada’s most emitting, responsible for 217 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent, or 31 percent of total emissions, according to the annual report.

That was followed by transportation — which is undergoing a massive transformation with a push toward electric vehicles — at 156 megatonnes or 22 percent of the total.

The energy sector, meanwhile, was the biggest driver of CO2 reductions, thanks to a phase out of coal-burning power plants.

Guilbeault said the government would continue to “keep up the momentum with new measures like an oil and gas emissions cap and investments in electric vehicle supply chains.”

Canada has lured several automotive giants such as Honda, Volkswagen and Stellantis to set up electric vehicle and battery plants in Canada, by offering billions of dollars in incentives.

Guilbeault said draft regulations on capping the oil and gas sector’s emissions would be unveiled “by the fall” of this year.