Canadian GHG Emissions by Sector 2005, 2019-2022, 2030

January 24, 2025

In December 2020, the Canadian Government announced plans to exceed previous 2030 Paris agreement targets. Under the Paris Agreement, Canada committed to reduce its GHG emissions to 30 per cent below its 2005 level of 761 Mt by 2030. This translates into a target of 505 Mt in 2030. The April 2021 Federal budget included further measures to reduce emission to a target of 468 Mt in 2030. The Oil and Gas sector accounted for 22% of Canada’s 2005 total, 26% of 2019 total, 27% of the total under the Paris Agreement and 30% of the April 2021 Budget forecast. Announced in April before the June 2021 Leaders Summit on Climate, although post budget, a further reduction to 402-438 Mt of emissions.

In total Between 2005 and 2022, total greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 54 megatonnes (Mt), representing a 7.1% reduction. The Electricity sector saw the most significant decline, with emissions dropping by 69 Mt (53%), from Heavy Industry 10 Mt (13%) and Waste and other from 4Mt (9%). However, emissions from Oil and Gas increased by 21 Mt, a 10% rise. During the same timeframe, emissions in the Agriculture sector increased by 4 Mt (7%), and Building sector from almost 4 Mt (4%). Meanwhile, emissions in the Transport sector remained relatively stable, with a slight decline of 0.1 Mt or 0.1%.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO, independent/nonpartisan) released a report (Beyond Paris: Reducing Canada’s GHG Emissions By 2030) in June 2021 concluding that it would “take extraordinary measures to achieve [the ‘21 Budget] objective”.

References:
Government of Canada: Greenhouse gas emissions
Government of Canada: A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy