Data Sources and Methods for the National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Indicators

Annex 7 of the NIR presents the uncertainty assessment for Canada’s GHG emissions. Further details on uncertainty related to specific sectors can be found in the uncertainty sections of chapters 3 through 8 of the NIR.

The sum of emissions from all provinces and territories do not add up to the national total because the emissions from some sources are estimated at the national level only. In particular, GHG estimates associated with the consumption of perfluorocarbons (PFCs) or sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) from semi-conductor manufacturing are not included, only SF₆ emissions from electrical equipment have been included. Nevertheless, the trends in emissions from provinces and territories are considered representative of the actual emission trends in these jurisdictions.

The application of quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) procedures is an essential requirement of the GHG inventory development and submission process. QA/QC procedures ensure and improve transparency, consistency, comparability, completeness and confidence in the national emissions for the purpose of meeting Canada’s reporting commitments under the UNFCCC.  Annex 6 of the NIR provides a complete discussion of the QA/QC procedures.

Chapter 9 of the NIR provides a summary of the recalculations implemented in Canada’s GHG inventory since the 2011 submission to the UNFCCC, and a description of planned improvements for future inventories.