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The greenhouse gas emissions indicator comes directly from the NIR and has not undergone any further manipulation. Data used to develop the NIR come from published as well as non-published sources from various government departments, scientific papers, and internationally accepted IPCC reference documents.
The sections below provide a brief outline of the data sources that were used to calculate emissions for each source category. A comprehensive detailing of all data sources used can be found in Chapters 3 through 8 of the NIR (Environment Canada, 2006), disaggregated by sector and sub-sector.
Energy
Industrial processes
Solvent and other product use
Agriculture
Waste
Energy
Many of the data used to estimate stationary and mobile fuel combustion emissions are acquired from Statistics Canada.
Certain sub-sectors require data from additional sources to assess emissions more completely. Some of the data sets used to estimate emissions from road transport activities, for example, are found in Text table 5.
Text table 5 Data sets and sources: Road transport activities
An inventory of fugitive emissions from Canadian coal mining operations is used as the basis for estimating emission factors for releases associated with the mining of solid fuels (King, 1994). These emission factors are multiplied by coal production data from Statistics Canada. Fugitive emission estimates from the oil and natural gas industry are based on two studies (Radian International, 1997; Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, 1999), using data collected from various sources, such as the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, Natural Resources Canada, Statistics Canada and provincial energy ministries.
Industrial processes
Activity data used to develop estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from some of Canada’s industrial processes, using either default IPCC or industry-specific emission factors, are outlined in Text table 6.
Text table 6 Data sets and sources: Industrial processes
HFC emissions from consumption of halocarbons are estimated based on data gathered from surveys conducted by the Chemical Controls Division of Environment Canada in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2001, and from a study performed in 2005. Process CO2, PFC and SF6 emission estimates for aluminium production were obtained directly from the Aluminium Association of Canada. Estimates of N2O emissions from adipic acid production were also provided by Canada’s only adipic acid plant.
Solvent and other product use
This sector accounts for emissions that are related to the use of N2O as an anaesthetic and propellant. The emission factors applied were developed based on 1990 population statistics and on nitrous oxide consumption patterns. These factors were multiplied by the population data from Statistics Canada’s Annual Demographic Statistics (Statistics Canada, 2004a) to estimate emissions for this sector.
Agriculture
Statistics Canada livestock population data were used in conjunction with IPCC Tier 1 or Tier 2 emission factors to produce estimates of emissions from enteric fermentation and manure management. Livestock categories for which population data are available include cattle (dairy and non-dairy), buffalo, sheep and lambs, goats, horses, swine, and poultry. These data are obtained from Statistics Canada’s Census of Agriculture and other annual reports.
Emissions of nitrous oxide from synthetic fertilizers, animal manure applied to soils and crop residue decomposition are calculated using annual fertilizer sales, animal manure and crop production data from Statistics Canada, combined with the country-specific emission factors. To produce emission estimates from manure on pasture, range and paddock, the same data sources as for manure management emissions, and the Tier 1 emission factors are used. The area of cultivated organic soils obtained through consultations with national and regional soil and crop specialists is applied to the IPCC default emission factor to generate emission estimates for histosols. Other sources of removals of N2O, such as summer-fallow and conservation tillage practices are also inventoried.
Waste
The waste sector includes emissions from the treatment and disposal of wastes, including solid waste disposal on land (landfills), wastewater treatment, and waste incineration.
A variety of data sources were used to collect activity data to produce solid waste emission estimates. These sources include Environment Canada (1996), Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (1998), Statistics Canada (2004a) and (2000, 2003, 2004b) Natural Resources Canada (1997), and various other unpublished waste inventories.
Provincial-level data, including waste disposal quantities, inputs from the above-mentioned sources and the Scholl Canyon model were used to estimate CH4 emissions from landfills (Environment Canada, 2006). This model uses a first-order decay equation to relate emission contributions to the waste that has been landfilled in previous years, as opposed to the static default method, which relates emissions to the quantity of waste landfilled in that year only. A multiple linear regression of landfilled waste quantities was performed to fit the Levelton data (1991) with data obtained from Statistics Canada’s Waste Management Industry Survey (1998, 2003, 2004b) for emission estimates from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. New methane generation rate constants (k) and new methane generation potentials were also used for MSW and wood waste landfill emission estimates.
Wastewater handling emission estimates, from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, were developed using specific emission rates based on the amount of organic matter generated per person in Canada. These emission rates were then multiplied by the amount of wastewater treated anaerobically in each province and then by the population of the respective province (Statistics Canada, 2004b). Emissions from industrial wastewater treatment were estimated from data obtained from Environment Canada reports (1986, 1991, 1996) and from communications with industry associations.
Both MSW and sewage sludge incineration estimates were derived from an Environment Canada (1996) study and extrapolated using Statistics Canada population growth figures. New data on the quantities of sewage sludge being incinerated were used to update the model, where in previous years, due to lack of information, the emissions were assumed to be constant since 1996. This resulted in a recalculation of the CH4 emissions from 1990 to 2003. This year’s inventory also includes N2O emissions.
