2011 GHGRP Overview Report – Long Descriptions

Figure 1: Reported 2011 greenhouse gas emissions by gas

Figure 1 is a pie graph showing the breakdown of the reported 2011 greenhouse gas emissions by gas. Carbon dioxide represented the majority of the total emissions at 94%, while methane and nitrous oxide emissions each contributed an additional 4% and 1% respectively. The combined emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride accounted for the remaining 1%.

Figure 2: Reported 2011 emissions by source (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide included)

Figure 2 is a pie graph showing the breakdown of the reported 2011 greenhouse gas emissions by emission source category. Stationary fuel combustion was the largest source of emissions at 76%. Industrial processes accounted for 15%, while venting, flaring, fugitive and on-site transportation each accounted for 2%.  The two remaining categories, waste and wastewater, when combined, accounted for the remaining 1%.

Figure 3: Reported 2011 greenhouse gas emissions by industry sector (254 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalent)   

Figure 3 is a pie graph showing the breakdown of the reported 2011 greenhouse gas emissions by main industry sector. Facilities in the Utilities sector accounted for 37%, Manufacturing for 31% and Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction for 28%. The Other category, accounting for the remaining 4% of emissions, includes  facilities that fall into industry sectors other than those already mentioned such as natural gas transportation pipelines, solid waste landfills and universities.

Figure 4: Reported 2011 greenhouse gas emissions by subsectors of Utilities (94 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalent)

Figure 4 is a pie graph showing the breakdown of the 2011 greenhouse gas emissions reported by the Utilities sector by subsector. Facilities engaged in electric power generation, transmission and distribution account for 98% of these emissions, natural gas distribution pipelines for just under 2% and water, sewage and other systems for 0.5%.

Figure 5: Reported 2011 greenhouse gas emissions by subsectors of Manufacturing (78 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalent)

Figure 5 is a pie graph showing the breakdown of the 2011 greenhouse gas emissions reported by the Manufacturing sector by subsector. The top four contributors to the reported emissions in this sector were petroleum and coal product manufacturing at 22%, iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy manufacturing at 18%, basic chemical manufacturing at 15% and cement and concrete product manufacturing at 13%. Alumina and aluminium production and processing accounted for 10% of emissions, pesticide and fertilizer manufacturing for 8% and wood product and paper manufacturing for 6%. The remaining emissions for this sector break down as follows: Lime and gypsum product manufacturing, 3%; non-ferrous metal (except aluminium) production and processing, 2%; food and beverage manufacturing, 1%; and  other manufacturing activities, 3%.

Figure 6: Reported 2011 greenhouse gas emissions by subsectors of Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction (71 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalent)  

Figure 6 is a pie graph showing the breakdown of the 2011 greenhouse gas emissions reported by the Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extractionsector by subsector. Non-conventional oil extraction and conventional oil and gas extraction accounted for the majority of these emissions at 69% and 20% respectively. Metal ore mining accounted for an additional 5%, coal mining for 4% and non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying for the remaining 2%.

Figure 7: Types of methods used by facilities

Figure 7 is a pie graph showing the types of calculation methods and their percent usage by facilities to estimate their greenhouse gas emissions. The most common type of method used (at 62%) was that using emissions factors followed by engineering estimates at 16%. The remaining types of methods are mass balance, used 13% of the time and monitoring or direct measurements at 9%.

Figure 8: Provincial/territorial short-term change, 2010-2011

Figure 8 is a bar graph depicting the reported greenhouse gas emissions for 2010 and 2011, broken down by province.  The following provinces and territories showed an overall decrease in the combined emissions from all reporting facilities between 2010 and 2011: Ontario (6 979 kilotonnes), Nova Scotia (709 kilotonnes), Quebec (468 kilotonnes), New Brunswick (374 kilotonnes), Saskatchewan (333 kilotonnes) and Newfoundland (291 kilotonnes). The remaining provinces and territories saw an increase in reported emissions:  Alberta (692 kilotonnes), British Colombia (445 kilotonnes), Manitoba (129 kilotonnes), Nunavut (64 kilotonnes), Northwest Territories (9 kilotonnes) and Prince Edward Island (2 kilotonnes).

Figure 9: Top 10 short-term changes by North American Industry Classification System industry sector, 2010-2011

Figure 9 is a bar graph showing the top ten industries that show the largest change in reported greenhouse gas emissions between 2010 and 2011.The facilities are grouped by North American Industry Classification System sectors. Three sectors showed a decrease in emissions: fossil fuel electric power generation (11 857 kilotonnes), petroleum refineries (810 kilotonnes) and iron ore mining (215 kilotonnes). The remaining seven sectors shown in the graph experienced increases in emissions: non-conventional oil extraction (2 232 kilotonnes), pipeline transportation of natural gas (418 kilotonnes), other basic organic chemical manufacturing (394 kilotonnes), chemical fertilizers (except potash) (393 kilotonnes), petrochemical manufacturing (339 kilotonnes), chemical pulp mills (312 kilotonnes) and cement manufacturing (261 kilotonnes).

Figure 10: Provincial/Territorial long-term change, 2005–2011

Figure 10 is a bar graph showing the provincial and territorial long-term change in greenhouse gas emissions between 2005 and 2011 by sector (Mining, Quarrying and Oil and Gas Extraction, Utilities, Manufacturing and Other). Other includes various types of facilities such as natural gas transportation pipelines, solid waste landfills and universities. Most provinces show a net decline in emissions since 2005: Ontario (29 176 kilotonnes), New Brunswick (4 797 kilotonnes), Quebec (1 931 kilotonnes), Nova Scotia (1 876 kilotonnes), Newfoundland (1 094 kilotonnes), Manitoba (796 kilotonnes), Prince Edward Island (39 kilotonnes) and Saskatchewan (13 kilotonnes). The other provinces and territories experienced a net increase in reported emissions: Alberta (16 916 kilotonnes), British Columbia (465 kilotonnes), Nunavut (199 kilotonnes) and Northwest Territories (196 kilotonnes).

Figure 11: Long-term sectoral trend, 2005–2011

Figure 11 is a line graph showing the changes in greenhouse gas emissions in the four main industrial sectors between 2005 and 2011. There is an overall increasing trend in emissions from the Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction sector while emissions from the Manufacturing, Utilities and Other sectors have generally decreased since 2005. (“Other” includes various types of facilities such as natural gas transportation pipelines, solid waste landfills and universities).

Figure 12: Top five long-term changes by North American Industry Classification System industry sector, 2005–2011

Figure 12 is a bar graph showing the top five industries with the largest change in greenhouse gas emissions between 2005 and 2011. Four sectors showed a decrease in emissions: fossil fuel electric power generation (32 278 kilotonnes), pipeline transportation of natural gas (5 420 kilotonnes), iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy manufacturing (3 244 kilotonnes) and cement manufacturing (2 921 kilotonnes). Non-conventional oil extraction experienced an increase in emissions of 20 706 kilotonnes.

Figure 13: Provincial/Territorial contribution to 2011 facility-reported (GHGRP) total and National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report total

Figure 13 is a line graph comparing the provincial/territorial distribution of the greenhouse gas emissions from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Program and the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report. The two distributions follow a similar pattern, with Alberta contributing the largest quantity of emissions by province, followed by Ontario and Quebec.

Figure 14: 2011 Facility-reported emissions as a percentage of national and provincial/territorial industrial greenhouse gas emissions (from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report)

Figure 14 is a bar graph showing the percentage of industrial greenhouse gas emissions from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report that are accounted for by the facility-reported data from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Program. The degree of coverage at the national and provincial/territorial level is displayed, and ranges from 11% in Prince Edward Island to 74% in Nova Scotia with the coverage of industrial emissions nationally at 57%. The average degree of coverage is 52%. In this overview report, Canada’s industrial greenhouse gas emissions include the following categories from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report 1990–2011: Stationary Combustion Sources (except Residential), Other Transportation, Fugitive Sources, Industrial Processes and Waste.