Canada Ranks Among Top 4 Global Greenhouse Gas Emitters Due to Severe Wildfires

Photo : Reuters

Canada's carbon footprint has surged dramatically, placing it among the top four greenhouse gas emitters globally in 2023, a ranking largely driven by record-breaking wildfires. This significant shift comes as a result of extensive forest fires that devastated vast areas of the country, raising concerns about the future role of Canadian forests as carbon sinks.

In 2022, Canada’s total CO2-equivalent emissions from burning fossil fuels were recorded at 708 megatonnes, according to government data. However, the situation took a drastic turn in 2023. A staggering 15 million hectares (about 58,000 square miles) of forest were consumed by wildfires, displacing more than 200,000 people and releasing unprecedented levels of carbon dioxide and monoxide into the atmosphere.

Utilizing satellite data to analyze the smoke plumes from these fires, which raged from May to September, researchers estimated that the wildfires released 2,371 megatonnes of carbon dioxide and monoxide. This dramatic increase in emissions catapulted Canada from the eleventh to the fourth position among the world’s top carbon emitters, trailing only China, the United States, and India.

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The study, published in the journal *Nature*, underscores the growing threat posed by climate change, as hot, dry weather—identified as a key factor in the 2023 wildfires—is expected to become more common by the 2050s. This trend is anticipated to drive an increase in fire activity, raising alarms about the ability of Canadian forests to continue functioning as carbon sinks.

Brendan Byrne, the lead author of the study, expressed concerns that more frequent and intense fires in the coming decades could significantly impair the forests' capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. Canada’s boreal forest, which spans from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans, is a critical reservoir of "sequestered" CO2. Typically, the carbon released during wildfires is reabsorbed as the forests regenerate over decades. However, the growing scale and frequency of fires, combined with droughts in certain regions, could delay forest regrowth, reducing the forests' ability to capture and store carbon.

The study suggests that if these trends continue, Canada may need to revise its allowable fossil fuel emissions downward to compensate for the diminished carbon uptake by its forests. This would complicate the country's existing commitments under the Paris Agreement, where it has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Adding to the global concern, a separate study published in *Nature Ecology & Evolution* in June indicated that the frequency and intensity of extreme wildfires worldwide have more than doubled over the past two decades, a trend attributed to human-induced climate change. 

Although the wildfire season in Canada this year has been less intense than in 2023, certain areas have still faced severe challenges. Notably, the popular tourist town of Jasper in western Canada suffered partial destruction due to wildfires in July. As of the most recent reports, there are 732 fires still burning across the country, with 136 of them out of control, underscoring the ongoing threat that wildfires pose to both the environment and communities.

This recent surge in emissions and the ongoing wildfire crisis have cast a long shadow over Canada’s environmental future, highlighting the urgent need for stronger climate action and improved wildfire management strategies.

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