National inventory report of greenhouse gas sources and sinks in Canada 1990-2005 : the Canadian Government's submission to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change : executive summary

This report includes an inventory of anthropogenic emissions by sources, and removals by sinks, of the 6 main greenhouse gases (GHGs) not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. It was prepared using the guidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and represents Canada's thirteenth National Inventory Report and the third inventory since the Kyoto Protocol was ratified by Canada in 2002. This executive summary highlighted the developments in the inventory and reviewed trends in emissions. Some international context was also provided along with national, provincial and territorial emissions for the period 1990-2005 with updates to last year's submission. The GHGs for which emissions and removals were estimated include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, perfluorocarbons, and hydrofluorocarbons. The long term trend indicated that emissions in 2005 were 25.3 per cent above the revised 1990 total of 596 Mt and represent a level 32.7 per cent above the Kyoto target. The flattening of the growth curve between 2003 and 2005 was due primarily to a significant reduction in emissions from electricity production, notably reduced coal and increased hydro and nuclear generation, combined with reduced demand for heating fuels due to warmer winters. Long term growth, however remained large. Between 1990 and 2005 significant increases in oil and gas production resulted in a large increase in emissions associated with the production and transportation of fuel for export. A short term comparison revealed that since 2003, growth in GHG emissions has been minor, although there were some large increases in certain areas such as transportation. There was an uncharacteristically small emission increase from the fossil fuel industries. The long term comparison by sector revealed that between 1990 and 2005, the net increase in Canada's annual GHG emissions totaled about 151 Mt. This report summarized emissions by major sector, including energy industries; transportation sector; industrial processes sector; agricultural sector; waste sector; and land use and forestry sector. Canada's GHG emissions vary from region to region because of the distribution of natural resources and heavy industry within the country. Particular jurisdictions in Canada tend to produce more GHG emissions because of their economic and industrial structure and their dependence on fossil fuels for producing energy. 14 refs., 6 tabs., 4 figs