See also:

Yukon and NWT greenhouse gas emissions
 
Greenhouse gas levels

Arctic Borderlands Ecological Knowledge Co-op

What is happening?

• This graph shows annual changes in the release of greenhouse gases (expressed in terms of the number of metric tonnes of carbon dioxide).
• Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002 and agreed to lower greenhouse gas emissions to a level 6 percent below the 1990 baseline (blue line on graph) between 2008-2012.
• Canada's greenhouse gas emissions rose steadily from 1990 until 2003 when emissions started to decline slowly. Canadian emissions by 2006 were 29% above the Kyoto target.

Why is it happening?

• The release of greenhouse gases increases when we burn fossil fuels, change some land practices such as clearing forests or allow gases, such as methane, to escape from landfills.

Why is it important?

• Human activities that release greenhouse gases will contribute to global warming.
• The Borderlands study area has been experiencing significant warming in recent decades and this raises concerns about the future impacts of these changes in climate.

Technical Notes

• These data were obtained from the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Database kept by Environment Canada.
• Units are in kt or kilotonnes and equal 1,000 kg.
• Canada is following an international monitoring effort to track 6 gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, perfluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons. The release of each gas is estimated and converted to a equivalent amount of carbon dioxide based on the global warming potential of each individual gas.