Canadians among the world’s biggest carbon polluters
Canada’s total carbon dioxide emissions are considerably lower when compared to the world’s largest emitters, but it is a very different story on a per capita emissions basis. In 2021, the average Canadian produced 14.3 tCO₂ – roughly three times above the global average. By comparison, per capita emissions in countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom were less than 10 tCO₂. The province with the highest per capita emissions in Canada is Alberta, where the average person produces almost 60 tCO₂ annually (according to the most recent available data). Alberta is also the most polluting province in Canada by far, emitting the equivalent of 256 MtCO₂ in 2021.Where do Canada's emissions come from?
The largest source of emissions in Canada is the country’s heavily polluting oil and gas industry, which accounted for almost 30 percent of total GHG emissions in 2021. Canada is one of the world’s largest oil producers thanks to its vast oil sands reserves, which are a key contributor to the industry’s carbon footprint. Emissions from oil sands operations have increased almost six-fold since 1990 to more than 80 MtCO₂e annually. In situ oil sands production accounts for almost a quarter of the Canadian oil and gas industry's emissions. Canada’s new climate roadmap will require oil and gas sector emissions to be cut by 42 percent below 2019 levels by 2030, or 31 percent below 2005 levels.The second-largest polluter in Canada is the transportation sector, which is responsible for just under a quarter of total emissions. Canadian transportation emissions increased by more than 50 percent between 1990 and 2019, but plummeted by more than 15 percent in 2020 due to strict COVID-19 measures. Although emissions rebounded in 2021 as restrictions eased, they still remained far below pre-pandemic levels.
