Scorecard Summary:
Fulfilment of Rio Conference Commitment - Red
Current Government Position on Climate Change - Red
Per Capita CO2 Emissions - Red (14.99 metric tons per person in 1992)
National CO2 Emissions - Yellow (409 million metric tons in 1992)
OVERALL ASSESSMENT:
Carbon dioxide emissions rapidly increasing,
ineffective
actions being taken domestically to reduce emissions, a member of the
group of
nations that WWF believes are blocking progress at international treaty
negotiations, but does appear to remain worried about the destructive
impact of
climate change.
NATIONAL CLIMATE PROTECTION GOAL:
Canada has established a
national goal to
stabilise net greenhouse gas emissions not controlled by the Montreal
Protocol
at 1990 levels by the year 2000. This is supported by Canada's provinces.
There is a federal target of 20 percent reductions in emissions from 1988
levels
by 2005 - the "Toronto target".
SPECIFIC FEATURES:
Canada's emissions are growing rapidly. It
is an
energy-intensive country due to its increasing population (but within an
overall
low population density), large distances between urban centers, cold climate,
affluent lifestyles, and reliance on energy-intensive economic activities.
Energy prices for end-users are also low compared to most other OECD
countries.
In 1990, Canada's total emissions of the three major greenhouse gas emissions
(carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) were equivalent to 526
million tons,
with CO2 accounting for 87 percent of emissions. Energy production and
consumption generated 98 percent of Canada's anthropogenic CO2 emissions in
1990. The major sources of emissions were the transportation sector (32
percent), electricity generation (20 percent), and industrial sources (16
percent). Fossil fuels meet close to three quarters of Canada's total
primary
energy demand. The remainder is supplied by hydro and nuclear power (which
largely generate electricity supply) and other renewable sources (mainly
biomass). Solar and wind power currently meet only a very small portion of
Canada's overall energy needs.
NEGATIVE FEATURES:
Based on key assumptions and the
continuation of existing
policies, programmes and measures, Canada will not meet its national climate
protection goal of stabilising CO2 emissions by the year 2000. The latest
estimate (December 1996) is that emissions will be eight percent above
the 1990
levels in 2000. According to reports, greenhouse gas emissions are
already 9.5
percent above 1990 levels. The petroleum industry alone accounted for 31
percent of the increase in emissions between 1990 and 1995. Jurisdiction over
policies and measures is shared at federal, provincial and municipal
levels and
this makes policy formulation and implementation a challenge,
particularly when
the federal government is cutting programmes. Another concern is the
fact that
Canada's large forest area (45 percent of the nation's land area) may have
shifted from being a net sink
to a source of net emissions around 1990.
POSITIVE FEATURES:
There is now a broad consensus among
provincial governments
that further options need to be developed to close the gap in stabilising
carbon
dioxide emissions. Well-developed options have been identified to improve
energy efficiency in the transportation, building and industrial sectors
and to
increase the use of renewable energy in the electricity sector.
Sources: UNFCCC National Communication of Canada, 1994; Report on
in-depth
review of the national communication of Canada (FCCC/IDR.1/CAN); and Climate
Action Network's Rational Energy Programme, 1996.