Environment | May 2008

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News Briefs

Aircraft makers, airlines, airports and air traffic controllers pledged...

Human Activity and the Environment
Climate change in Canada

Tidewater glacier, Devon Island, Nunavut, Brenda Saunders, 2007 

Climate change is a global problem with global consequences. In 2006, warmer-than-average temperatures were recorded across the world for the 30th consecutive year (Chart 1.1). Increasing average temperatures are melting glaciers and polar ice caps and raising sea levels, putting coastal areas at greater risk of flooding. Mounting evidence indicates that these changes are not the result of the natural variability of climate. The theory of human-induced climate change is supported by numerous respected scientific bodies, including the British Royal Society, the American National Academies and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The IPCC, established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), released its fourth assessment report in 2007. It declared that "warming of the climate's system is unequivocal" and that there is a "very high confidence" that human activity since 1750 has played a significant role in overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide (CO₂).

The IPCC is arguably the world's foremost scientific authority on the subject of climate change, and its role is to "assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation." ¹ 

One of the greatest concerns associated with climate change is the anticipated increase in the frequency of extreme weather events. The ice storm that struck eastern Canada in 1998 illustrates the magnitude of the potential impact of these events (Text box "Ice storm of 1998").

In addition to extreme weather events, other changes associated with climate change are more gradual. Lakes and rivers generally freeze later and thaw earlier than they used to, resulting in difficulties building and maintaining the ice roads that are vital for many northern communities. Over the past 10 years, the network of ice roads in Manitoba has gone from 50 to 60 days of usage to as low as 20 days in some years. ²  A series of mild winters in the central interior of the province of British Columbia has supported the spread of the mountain pine beetle, a very serious forest pest, resulting in the death of pine trees across millions of hectares of forests.

Canada has about 0.5% of the world's population, but contributes about 2% of the total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This puts Canadians among the highest per capita emitters, largely as a result of the size of the country, the low density of the population, the high energy demands imposed by the climate, our resource-based economy, and the volume of goods we export. In 2005, slightly more than 23 tonnes of GHGs were emitted for each person in the country: this represents an 8% per capita increase since 1990. ³ 

Numerous factors influence how climate change works and how those effects will be felt by people around the world, now and in the future.

Statistics Canada published on April 23 the study Human activity and the environment:  Climate change in Canada.  Canada's emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), major contributors to climate change, rose 25% between 1990 and 2005. However, without increases in energy efficiency, the increase in emissions would have been even greater.

In 2005, human activities released the equivalent of 747 megatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in Canada. This was up about 25% from emissions of 596 megatonnes in 1990.  However, during the same 15-year period, the amount of GHGs emitted per unit of economic activity declined 18%, while the nation's population grew 17%, and energy use increased 23%.

Some of the study's main findings include:

Energy production and use by far the biggest contributor

Canada has about 0.5% of the world's population, but contributes about 2% of the total global GHG emissions.  In 2005, just over 23 tonnes of GHGs were emitted for each person in Canada, an 8% per capita increase since 1990. Over the same period, Canada's economy grew by 30% in per capita terms.  Canadian per capita GHG emissions are comparable to those in the United States (24.4 tonnes). But they are markedly higher than those in Germany (12.1 tonnes), the United Kingdom (10.9 tonnes), Japan (10.6 tonnes) and France (9.2 tonnes).

Impacts of climate change:  Canada getting warmer

Canada has warmed in recent decades. The trend between 1948 and 2007 shows a 1.4 °C increase in annual temperatures in Canada. Temperature increases are greatest in the Yukon/North British Columbia Mountains region and the Mackenzie District of the Northwest Territories.  Glaciers in the Rocky Mountains are receding and thinning, resulting in decreases in flow during the critical driest months of the year in some rivers. Of the 853 glaciers inventoried in 1975 in the North and South Saskatchewan River basins, 328 have disappeared completely.

Lakes and rivers generally freeze later and thaw earlier than they used to, resulting in difficulties building and maintaining the ice roads that are vital for many northern communities. Over the past 10 years, the network of ice roads in Manitoba has gone from 50 to 60 days of usage to as low as 20 days in some years.  A series of mild winters in the central interior of the province of British Columbia has supported the spread of the mountain pine beetle, a very serious forest pest, resulting in the death of pine trees across millions of hectares of forests.

In addition to the feature article on climate change, Human Activity and the Environment also provides a comprehensive set of data describing how Canadians interact with the environment. It includes data on topics such as climate, natural resources, ecosystems, and environmental practices.  This compilation of the most recent statistics related to climate change in Canada is published in the 2007 and 2008 edition of Human Activity and the Environment, Statistics Canada's compendium of information on how Canadians interact with their environment.

News Briefs

Aircraft makers, airlines, airports and air traffic controllers pledged on April 22 to work towards "carbon-neutral growth" and reduce their industry's contribution to global warming. The declaration committed commercial players including Embraer, Bombardier, Boeing and Airbus to support cleaner fuels, improve fuel efficiency, better manage air routes, and work "to achieve greenhouse gas reductions wherever they are cost-effective. We are committed to a pathway to carbon-neutral growth and aspire to a carbon-free future," the signatories said. They also urged governments to develop a global emissions trading scheme for the aviation sector.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in a report last year that the aviation industry made up 3 percent of mankind's total contribution to global warming in 2005. That proportion is expected to rise to 5 percent by 2050. Airbus CEO Tom Enders said that new technology and other innovations, particularly in fuel, were the key to making air travel more sustainable over the long term. Airbus is experimenting with fuel cells as a way to decrease overall emissions. Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson said his firm was looking at algae-based products as an alternative to biofuels that are part of the food system. Prices for dietary staples including corn and wheat have shot up in past months, partly due to demands on crops for use as alternatives to oil and natural gas.

Philippe Rochat, executive director of the Air Transport Action Group, said the climate change declaration should help draw the industry together around a common goal, as has already been done in safety standards and e-ticketing initiatives.

[Source: Reuters]