Canada Fossil-Fuel CO₂ Emissions

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Trends

Driven by a 6.2% per year increase in emissions from liquid fuels, total fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions from Canada increased by a factor of 2.5 from 1950 to 1974. Continuing growth until 1980 was maintained by continuing expansion of natural gas consumption and an upturn in coal consumption. The post-1980 drop was comparable to that observed in the United States, and the pattern from 1980 to 1987 was erratic but essentially at a constant level. After 1987, annual fossil-fuel CO₂ releases increased irregularly peaking in 2005 at 153 million metric tons of carbon. The 2008 estimate, approximately 148 million metric tons of carbon, represents a 3.3% decline from the 2005 peak value. In 2008, liquid fuels contributed 46.7% of total fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions, natural gas contributed 32.4%, and coal contributed 18.8%. Per capita CO₂ emissions from Canada stand at 4.46 metric tons of carbon per person placing Canada among the highest of the major fossil-fuel CO₂-emitting nations.