Canadians and Greenhouse Gas EmissionsBy: Sarah Deslippe

What are Greenhouse Gasses?

• Carbon Dioxide: most common type, comes from petroleum and natural gas and coal

• Methane: occurs when vegetation is burned, digested or rotted. Comes from coal mining, landfills, and agriculture

• Nitrous oxide: Burning of fossil fuels for agriculture, occurs in chemical fertilizer

Question

• How does Canada compare to the world with regards to per capita greenhouse gas emissions?

• What are the sources of greenhouse gases in Canada?

• How have the total and per capita emissions in Canada changed over the years?

• What are the possible implications if Canadians continue emitting greenhouse gases at our current rate?

Hypothesis

• I predict that a graph showing international statistics would show very low GHG emissions in at least 80% of countries surveyed and a very high consumption in the remaining 20%

• I believe that Canada’s emissions will have increased over the 10 year period I will be discussing

• I predict that Canada will have a very high record of GHG emissions owning to our climate and standard of living

International Statistics

GHGs per Capita per Country in 2003

Data For International Comparison

• Cross-sectional Study

• Examines and Compares the Total Consumption of GHGs in Tonnes of CO2 equivalent

• Single Variable Data

Annual GHG Emissions in Tonnes per Capita around the World

Frequency of Tonnes Per Country in 2003

Number of Countries

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0.04

4.66

1818

182

9.28

3636

364

13.9

0545

455

18.5

2727

273

23.1

4909

091

27.7

7090

909

32.3

9272

727

37.0

1454

545

41.6

3636

364

46.2

5818

182

More

Number of Countries

Analyzing the International Distribution Chart

• Data Distribution is NOT Normal• data is too widely spread, yet too much falls

within one standard deviation– High consumption in few developed nations

(parts of North America and Europe)– Low consumption in many underdeveloped

nations (Africa, parts of Latin America)– High consumption in Newly Industrialized

nations and oil bearing nations (Iran, Kuwait, other parts of Asia)

– Medium consumption of few developed nations (parts of Europe)

GHGs in CanadaSources and Types of GHGs in Canada

Reasons for Higher GHG Emissions in Canada

• Colder winters

• Longer Traveling Distances

• Increase in Standard of Living

Greenhouse Gas Distribution in Canada

Carbon dioxide (78.7%)Methane (12.6%)Nitrous oxide (7.4%)

Graph Showing CO2 Emissions in Canada in 2003

Motor Gasoline (13%)

Diesel Fuel (9%)

Heavy fuel Oil (4%)

Other products of refined petroleum(14%)

Natural gas (33%)

Coal (13%)

Primary electricity (14%)

Tonnes of GHGs in Canada 1990-2003

Tonnes of GHGs per Province within the years 1990 and 2003

0

50,000,000

100,000,000

150,000,000

200,000,000

250,000,000

provinces

Me

tric

to

nn

es

of

GH

Gs

GHGs per Capita per Province Within the Years 1990 and 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Alberta

British

Colu

mbia

Man

itoba

New Bru

nswick

Newfoun

dland

Northwes

t Ter

ritor

ies

Nova S

cotia

Ontar

io

Prince

Edw

ard Is

land

Quebe

c

Saska

tchew

an

Yukon

Canada

Regions

To

nn

es o

f G

HG

s p

er C

apit

a

Province BreakdownSources per Province and Reason for Change

Per Capita Distribution of Fuel within the Atlantic Provinces 1990 vs. 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Motor Gasoline Diesel fuel Heavy fuel oil Other RefinedPetroleumProducts

Natural gas Coal Primaryelectricity

Fuel Type

Gig

ajew

ls p

er C

apit

a

Per Captia 1990

Per Capita 2003

Per Capita Fuel Consumption in Quebec 1990 vs. 2003

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

MotorGasoline

Diesel fuel Heavy fuel oil OtherRefined

PetroleumProducts

Natural gas Coal Primaryelectricity

Fuel Type

Gig

ajew

ls p

er p

erso

n

Per Capita 1990

Per Capita 2003

Fuel Distribution Per Capita in Ontario 1990 vs. 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Motor Gasoline Diesel fuel Heavy fuel oil Other RefinedPetroleumProducts

Natural gas Coal Primaryelectricity

Fuel Type

Gig

ajew

ls p

er P

erso

n

Per Capita 1990

Per Capita 2003

Fuel Distribution Per Capita in Manitoba 1990 vs. 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

MotorGasoline

Diesel fuel Heavy fuel oil OtherRefined

PetroleumProducts

Natural gas Coal Primaryelectricity

Fuel Type

Gig

ajew

ls p

er P

erso

n

Per Capita 1990

Per Capita 2003

Fuel Distribution Per Capita in Saskatchewan

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Motor Gasoline Diesel fuel Heavy fuel oil Other RefinedPetroleumProducts

Natural gas Coal Primaryelectricity

Fuel Type

Gig

aje

wls

pe

r P

ers

on

Per Capita 1990

Per Capita 2003

Fuel Distribution Per Capita in Alberta 1990 vs. 2003

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

MotorGasoline

Diesel fuel Heavy fuel oil Other RefinedPetroleumProducts

Natural gas Coal Primaryelectricity

Gas Type

Gig

aje

wls

pe

r P

ers

on

Per Capita 1990

Per Capita 2003

Fuel Distribution per Capita in British Columbia

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Motor Gasoline Diesel fuel Heavy fuel oil Other RefinedPetroleumProducts

Natural gas Coal Primaryelectricity

Fuel Type

Gig

aje

wls

pe

r P

ers

on

Per Capita 1990

Per Capita 2003

Kilotonnes of GHG Emissions per year in Canada

Metric Tonnes of GHGs in Canada

450000000

470000000

490000000

510000000

530000000

550000000

570000000

590000000

610000000

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Years

Tonn

es

Gigajewls

Facts on Graph Concerning Line of Best Fit on Total Emissions in Canada• I chose linear regression as the “r2” value

was 0.01 units closer to one then that of the quadratic

• y = mx + b• m= 10,911,694.51• b = -2.1257• r2 = .97• r = .98• Bias? Unlike the other Graphs, this one is

not per capita

Environmental Impacts• Melting of northern Glaciers may lead to wide

scale flooding (raise sea level six to seven meters• Increase risk of seasonal forest fires in Yukon and

Northwest Territories• Deadly “debris flows” in BC from wetter winters• Hotter summers decrease surface water for

consumption and recreation• Decrease of biodiversity• Coastal regions sensitive to flooding and erosion• Negative impacts on crops from smog and lack of

water• More Hurricanes of Katrina’s magnitude

Health Impacts

• Warmer climate means increase in West Nile, Malaria, and Lyme disease

• Heat stroke and dehydration• Asthma and allergies intensified• Increase in micro-organisms that

contaminate food• Increase susceptibility to lung and skin

cancer

Conclusion

• My hypothesis concerning international statistics was incorrect as I did not consider the impact of newly industrialized nations

• If Canadians and other citizens continue consuming energy the way we do we will either end up with very serious environmental and health impacts, or we will run out of energy sources

Source of DataCanada, a Big Energy Consumer: A Regional Perspective

Author: Marinka Ménard Manufacturing, Construction and Energy Division

www.statcan.ca

Environment Canada -1990-2003 National and Provincial GHG Emissions

www.ec.gc.ca

United Nations Statistics Division –Greenhouse Gas Emissions

www.un.org

One Tonne Challenge –Climate Change Impacts

www.climatechange.ca

The End