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CLIMATE
CHANGE:
Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
It
is widely acknowledged
that emissions
of greenhouse
gases by human
society are causing
climate change
on a global scale.11
Most greenhouse
gas emissions
are caused by
the  burning
of fossil fuels
for energy and
by industrial
processes such
as petroleum
refining and
cement manufacturing.
The dominant
greenhouse gas
is carbon dioxide.
Although
the precise impacts
are not known,
it is expected
that climate
change will cause
rising sea levels
(threatening
millions of people),
changing precipitation
patterns, thinning
of polar ice
caps, heat waves,
floods, droughts,
water shortages
and disruptions
of forests and
agriculture.
Northern regions
are expected
to be particularly
hard hit. The
Canadian Arctic
is already experiencing
warmer weather,
shorter winters,
melting permafrost,
wildlife impacts
and disruptions
of traditional
Inuit lifestyles.
Canada
signed the United
Nations Framework
Convention on
Climate Change
in 1992, and
pledged to stabilize
greenhouse gas
emissions at
1990 levels by
the year 2000.
In 1997, Canada
signed the Kyoto
Protocol, formally
committing to
reduce greenhouse
gas emissions
by 6% below 1990
levels by 2010.
However these
international
efforts to stabilize
greenhouse gas
emissions have
failed to bear
fruit, as countries
have been unable
to agree on means
to calculate
reductions. Canada,
along with the
United States,
Australia and
Japan, has been
criticized for
blocking these
international
efforts.
Canada’s
OECD Ranking
Canada is a dismal
27th out of 29
OECD nations
when greenhouse
gas emissions
are measured
on a per capita
basis. Canadians
produce 16.84
tonnes of carbon
dioxide, per
person, per year,
48% above the
OECD average
of 11.41 tonnes
and more than
four times the
global average.
Canada’s
total carbon
dioxide emissions
were 515,375,000
tonnes, placing
Canada 25th out
of 29 OECD nations.
Only the United
States, Japan,
Germany and the
United Kingdom
produce more
total carbon
dioxide emissions
than Canada.
Trend
Canadian greenhouse
gas emissions
continue to rise,
despite a series
of government
initiatives that
have relied largely
on education
and voluntary
measures. Canadian
greenhouse gas
emissions are
up by more than
13.5% since 1990,
despite government
commitments to
stabilize emissions
at 1990 levels
by the year 2000.
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