Thursday, November 23, 2006

Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators

The second annual report, Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators, prepared by Environment Canada, Statistics Canada and Health Canada, provides updates on three indicators: air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater quality. The indicators are intended as annual measuring sticks by which governments and the public can track trends in the three areas.

The report shows that between 1990 and 2004, one of the air pollutants that contribute to smog increased and greenhouse gas emissions rose. In addition, it reveals that water quality guidelines for aquatic life are being exceeded, at least occasionally, at a majority of selected monitoring sites across the country.

The two air quality indicators focus on human exposure to ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter, both key components of smog. Fine particulate matter consists of tiny airborne particles that pose a threat to human health because they can travel deep into the lungs.

Both ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter are of concern because there are no established thresholds below which these pollutants pose no risk to human health.

At the national level, the ground-level ozone indicator showed year-to-year variability from 1990 to 2004, with an average annual increase of 0.9%. The fine particulate matter indicator, which covered the period from 2000 to 2004, shows that levels have not changed substantially over this time period. However, the limited number of years covered by this indicator does not yet permit trend analysis.

The greenhouse gas emissions indicator summarizes total national emissions of greenhouse gases. These emissions increased 27% from 1990 to 2004 to an estimated 758 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This exceeds the greenhouse gas reduction target of the Kyoto Protocol by 35% (or about 200 million tonnes). To put this in perspective, a typical mid-sized car driven 20,000 km a year produces about five tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The freshwater quality indicator covered the period from 2002 to 2004 and focused on the ability of Canada's surface waters to support aquatic life. For the 340 selected sites across southern Canada, water quality was rated as "good" or "excellent" at 44% of sites, "fair" at 34% and "marginal" or "poor" at 22%.

The three environmental indicators are also examined in the context of broader socio-economic issues.

The period between 1990 and 2004 saw an increase in many economic and social activities that contributed to increased air and water pollution and to greater amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. During this time period, for example, real gross domestic product increased by 47%, and the population grew by 15%. Primary energy production also rose 44% since 1990, largely as a result of increases in the production of natural gas and crude oil.

Canada is one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emitters in the world. One of the reasons is that resource-based commodities largely destined for export have been a growing component of the Canadian economy.

From a demand perspective, 46% of Canadian industrial greenhouse gas emissions in 2002 can be attributed to exports.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 5127, 5128 and 5129.

Three publications are now available online: Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (16-251-XWE, free); Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: Highlights (16-252-XWE, free), which presents key findings from the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators report; and Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: Socio-economic Information (16-253-XWE, free), which provides contextual information on some key human activities that influence the environmental indicators. From the Publications module of our website, choose Free Internet publications, then Environment. The publication is also available at (http://www.environmentandresources.ca/indicators)

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods, or data quality of this release, contact the Information Officer (613-951-0297; fax: 613-951-0634; environ@statcan.ca), Environment Accounts and Statistics Division.

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