Canada's GHG Emissions Hit A New Record High In 2005 - 32%+ Over Kyoto Targets

[hatrack]

After years of telling pollsters we demand drastic action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Canadians have voted with their furnaces, factories and SUVs to keep real-life emissions at a record high in 2005.

The total of 747 million tonnes of greenhouse gases from 2005, the most recent figure available, ties the record set in 2004. That's 32.7 per cent above the target in Canada's Kyoto Protocol commitment -- which takes binding effect in three months.

And Environment Canada says 2005 would have been even worse if we hadn't lucked into a warmer-than-average winter that saved heating fuel. We also reduced emissions in some areas by bringing nuclear plants back online in Ontario, which allowed the province's power plants to burn less coal.

Environment Canada adds: "Long-term growth, nevertheless, remains large. Between 1990 and 2005, significant increases in oil and gas production, much of which have been provided to the United States, have resulted in a significant increase in the emissions associated with the production and transportation of fuel for export."

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http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=a0c2f5dd-ea70-4d36-a01d-16fb4b804820