DO MY ACTIONS MATTER?

Canadian households produce about ⅕ of our national C02e emissions. In BC, households produce 17.5% of our total provincial emissions, making households the second largest emitter after the pulp and paper industry (20.3%).

Does Canada Matter?

Perhaps you have heard people say that what you do as a Canadian doesn’t matter because Canada outputs a small percentage of the world’s total CO2e emissions. Those people are correct that Canada accounts for only about 2% of total global CO2e emissions each year, but they leave out one crucial fact: Canadians, on average, have among the highest per person CO2e output in the world.  Canadians directly emit more than 14 tonnes (14,000 kg) of CO2e per person per year. Compare this with other highly developed countries like the UK (9.7 tonnes), Japan (8.1 tonnes), or Finland (9.7 tonnes).

Note that “directly emit” means emissions directly caused by the individual. This does not include industrial emissions.

What this means is that while our national output is a small percentage of the global total, the actions we take as individuals and households are among the most important in the world. Simply put: what each of us does has more impact than almost anyone else in the world. 

What About China?

You may have also heard that only China matters as it is the highest emitter of CO2e. While China does have the highest total output by a large margin - more than double the next highest emitter (the US) - this is due to the overall population of the country, not the per person emissions. The average per person output in China is just 5 tonnes. India, with a population similar to China, is the third largest overall emitter, but emits only 3 tonnes per person. Remember that in Canada, we directly produce more than 14 tonnes per person.

This also only considers current annual emissions. If we consider total historical CO2e emissions, the US is far and away the biggest polluter at 25% of total historical emissions, with the EU (including all EU countries) at 22%, then China at 13% and Russia at 6%. Canada, despite making up about 0.5% of the world’s population, has accounted for a hugely disproportionate 2% of total historical CO2e emissions. 

Canada Can Be a Leader

For Canada to maintain its reputation as a global leader, our nation must step up once again on this most crucial of all issues. Canada has been a role model from the creation of international peacekeeping to scientific discoveries such as insulin, from women's rights to universal health care. It's time for our nation to become a global climate leader. 

Today, 3 out of 4 Canadians think we should be global leader in taking on the biggest issue of our generation - the climate crisis - and 3 out of 4 Canadians are willing to adjust their lifestyle in order to accomplish this goal. 

We can do this!

Sources:

https://hotorcool.org/1-5-degree-lifestyles-report/
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211213/dq211213c-eng.htm
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/canadians-agree-we-need-to-do-more-on-climate
https://ourworldindata.org/contributed-most-global-co2
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/canada-population/
https://www.worldometers.info/co2-emissions/co2-emissions-by-country/
https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/one-third-of-young-canadians-say-they-feel-helpless-in-the-face-of-climate-change-5239789