Canada has among the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita in the world. According to a 2009 G8 publication, we perform the worst of all the G8 countries in terms of reducing total greenhouse gas pollution. Not only are our per capita emissions amongst the highest in the world, but we are one of the only countries with emissions that are still on the rise.
From: G8 Climate Scorecards 2009. WWF - World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund), Gland, Switzerland and Allianz SE, Munich, Germany. July 2009. © Text (2009) WWF and Allianz SE. All rights reserved.We often say that this is because we are a cold country and we need more energy to heat our homes. The reality, however, is that countries such as Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark have similarly cold winters but much lower levels of emissions than Canada. Despite some challenges, many other countries have already accepted their responsibility. Canada has given signs of accepting responsibility but we can do a lot more.
Canada was one of the first countries in the world to sign an international, legally-binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas pollution (in 1997). We pledged to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. This meant that by the end of 2012, Canada would have cut emissions by 240 million tonnes each year. However, Canada's 2007 emissions were 155 million tonnes above our 1990 levels.
In other words, instead of being six per cent below 1990 levels, Canada's emissions were 33.8 per cent above our 1990 levels. We have officially abandoned our original legally-binding agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, and are moving farther away from those targets as we pursue policies such as actively expanding the oil sands.
Source: UNFCCC GHG Inventory by Party. Data collected 2007. Where LULUCF is an acronym for "Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry".
While not yet implemented, Canada's 2007 Turning the Corner plan would commit us to reducing our total greenhouse gas emissions by three per cent by 2020 and by an additional 50 to 65 per cent by 2050, relative to our 1990 emissions.
Many
countries in the European Union have honoured their part of
the Kyoto agreement and will reach their targets on time. Even if we
implemented our current climate plan, Canada would reach its Kyoto target 10
years too late.
From: G8 Climate Scorecards 2009. WWF - World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund), Gland, Switzerland and Allianz SE, Munich, Germany. July 2009. © Text (2009) WWF and Allianz SE. All rights reserved.
Canada played a lead role in developing the Montreal Protocol to cease the production of ozone-depleting CFCs, despite having little power on the international stage. Canada also played a lead in the Ottawa Accord to ban landmines, despite a relatively weak negotiating stance with other countries. To claim that Canada is too powerless to influence the international climate movement is to ignore Canada's history of punching above our weight class. Canada can regain its position as an international leader on environmental and human rights issues by taking a leadership role on climate change.
"Nowhere else on Earth do fewer people steward more resources, yet Canada now stands last amongst the G8 nations in protecting our shared home from the threat of dangerous climate change. It is crucial that the Government of Canada recognize that our future lies in building the green economy that will provide sustainable livelihoods on a living planet, not in transforming the tar sands into moonscapes."
In this guide:
