Here’s a bummer. Canada ranks number 11 in total greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution on the list of the world’s dirtiest climate polluters.
What’s worse is that we’re second from the bottom on planet Earth regarding per capita carbon pollution.
Here’s a case where we’re glad we’re not number 1!
Our leaders like to say we will get our act together and cut down our emissions.
But then we need to do better to walk the talk and meet the targets set.
All the largest economies on earth, the G7 nations, now spew out less climate pollution than in 1990.
That is all of the above except Canada, which is the only country putting more pollution into the air than in 1990.
Yikes.
Not something we really want to be number one in
Gas guzzlers to blame
One of the biggest reasons Canada isn’t meeting our climate pollution targets is our love of fuel-guzzling vehicles, writes National Observer climate columnist Barry Saxifrage.
Tailpipe emissions from all road vehicles in Canada equal around 120 million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) per year. That’s equivalent to the pollution of over 300 coal-fired power plants every year.
That doesn’t even include the massive emissions generated by fossil fuel extraction and processing to get the gasoline to power all of our cars and trucks.
More than 140 countries worldwide give off fewer GHG emissions for their entire economy than we do just for us to drive around!
And it doesn’t help that Canadians buy some of the world’s most climate-polluting new cars.
And in Alberta, we love trucks and SUVs. In fact, as of December 2023, the most searched-for vehicles on AutoTrader province-wide in Wildrose Country were the Ford F150 and the Toyota RAV4, followed by the Dodge RAM 1500.
According to a new report by GlobalFuelEconomy.org, French, Germans, and British buy cars that burn five litres per 100 kilometres (5L/100km) on average.
The world average is a bit under seven litres.
Canadians clock in way at the bottom with their taste for passenger vehicles that suck an average of 8.3 L/100km.
Of the 26 million vehicles on Canadian roads, less than one percent are electric vehicles (EVs.)
Anti-EV Propaganda
Our love of gas guzzlers is no accident.
Anti-EV propaganda is one of the mainstream media’s favourite topics in Canada.
In an opinion piece for the National Observer, Rob Miller argues that there’s an ongoing media campaign in Canada to try to convince people that electric vehicles suck.
When it comes to media’s coverage of EVs, the vast majority of articles written claim that EVs are unreliable, useless in the cold, are an assault on middle-class bank accounts and will increase foreign imports, among other negatives.
Opinion pieces about the climate benefits of EVs charged with renewable energy, never mind avoiding the financial hit at the gas station, seem to get buried six feet under.
EV-bashing conveniently props up Big Oil’s self-serving agenda.
A report by the Canadian Automobile Association surveyed 16,000 EV owners who expressed concerns about charging infrastructure, long trips and cold weather performance.
However, the report also noted that after owning an EV, their satisfaction level was extremely high.
“An overwhelming majority (97 percent) say they will purchase another EV when it comes time to replace their existing one. Almost nine in 10 (89 percent) say they enjoy driving their EV more, 95 percent say their EV is more affordable, and 92 percent say their EV is a quieter ride than their gas vehicle.”
With our wealth, technology, and talent, Canada should be doing much better at converting to more climate-friendly transportation, which includes EVs and more transit and bike infrastructure.
But, sadly, we’re not. We’re keeping our foot firmly planted on the gas pedal.
Norway’s Doing It – Why Can’t We?
We only have to look at another oil and gas-rich country – Norway – for inspiration.
Norway is a Scandinavian country that shares a lot with Canada.
We’re both northern nations with vast oil and gas reserves, and we both have a cold climate.
The difference is that Norway’s government – and presumably its media – hasn’t been co-opted by Big Oil lobbyists.
Danielle Smith hopes to double oil and gas production by 2050, rather than slowing fossil fuel production like most countries worldwide.
Her sights are set on using our natural gas to create hydrogen so we can drive emission-free hydrogen vehicles.
But there is no infrastructure in Alberta for hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles, nor does the rest of the world seem to be embracing hydrogen vehicles, and few hydrogen vehicle models currently exist.
So, Albertans will continue to pile into our F150s for our trips to hockey practice and groceries.
With a Bit of Government Initiative, It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way
Norway has lowered its heat-trapping pollution using a range of no-nonsense incentives.
For example, gas and diesel cars are subject to high registration costs, roughly $15,000 CAN, in an effort to motivate consumers to buy EVs.
EV owners are exempt from the Value Added Tax (VAT); they pay less than 50 % of the parking fees charged to gas and diesel car drivers, and EV drivers don’t pay road usage tax.
In short, reward the behaviour you want and punish the behaviour you don’t.
In 2023, 82.4 percent of new passenger car sales in Norway were EVs.
With 700,000 EVs, supported by 3,000 public chargers and 7,500 fast chargers, Norway is well on its way to reaching a net-zero target for all new vehicles by 2025.
That ambitious goal can be achieved by motivating people through their wallets.
We have limited incentives to change, so why should we?
Provincial and Federal governments need to step up and create rules that reign in big polluters and make it easy for people to move away from polluting gas guzzlers.
