For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada logged a year-over-year decline in its greenhouse gas emissions. But it is still a long way off its 2030 target.
A preliminary emissions report in mid-December from the federal government showed greenhouse gases emitted in 2023 fell by six million tonnes compared to 2022, the equivalent to what about 1.4 million passenger vehicles emit over the course of a year, The Canadian Press reported.
Under the Paris climate agreement, Canada committed to reducing its emissions by 2030 to 40 to 45 from 2005 levels by 2030. The latest figures an 8.5% drop as of 2023.
Catherine Abreu, Ottawa-based director of the International Climate Politics Hub, called the report an “early Christmas present for the climate” in a post on LinkedIn.
“The big takeaway for me is that regulations work,” she wrote. “Government policy to drive down the use of coal in electricity systems has delivered the biggest cut to climate pollution—58% reductions between 2005 and 2023.”
And “while oil and gas continues to be the largest and fastest growing source of pollution, it would be even worse without effective regulations to drive down methane emissions,” she added. “Methane regulations have decreased oil and gas pollution by 9% from its peak in 2014,” even though oil and gas accounts for an ever-larger percentage of the country’s total emissions.
The government released an early summary of its national inventory report amid growing criticism of its climate record, in what CP called an unusual move. It’s normally publishes in April, when it’s due to be submitted to the United Nations.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the report confirmed the government’s plan is working.
“Thanks to the work of Canadians from every region of this country, we are succeeding in cutting pollution to the lowest level in over 27 years (excluding pandemic years), while our economy is growing,” Guilbeault said in a release.
“We are doing that by supporting the industries that are creating jobs for Canadians, alongside measures that help Canadians with cost savings in their daily lives.”
The report showed emissions in 2023 fell to 694 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent—the same levels as they were in 2021 when much of the country was still under COVID-19 restrictions.
The report revised previous years’ numbers, a normal process that happens as science finds more accurate ways to measure pollution. With those revisions, Canada’s new 2030 target is 455 million tonnes.
“The carbon pricing has been working to slightly cut into emissions,” Green Party leader Elizabeth May told CP.
“So this is the first time we can actually track that a policy instrument is actually reducing emissions. But it’s so far off what’s required that, while encouraging, it’s far short of what’s necessary.”
The report showed a small increase in emissions in 2023 from transportation sources, offset by decreases in the oil and gas sector, agriculture, and emissions from buildings.
Last November, federal Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco said Canada is still not on track to meet its commitments under the Paris climate agreement, largely because oil sands emissions are still on the rise.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024
