Physical flow account for greenhouse gas emissions, by gas type, 2018 to 2021

Data for 2018 to 2021 from the physical flow account (PFA) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are now available on request for Canada and by province and territory by gas type. Gas types included are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), in CO₂ equivalents. The Physical flow account for greenhouse gas emissions, by gas type, table is a supplement to the estimates of total GHG emissions, which are also available (38-10-0097-01).

The basis for the GHG estimates presented here is Statistics Canada's PFAs, which record the annual flows of selected natural resources, products and residuals between the Canadian economy and the environment. Data are presented to reflect the activities of industries, households and governments and follow the classification system of industries and commodities used in Statistics Canada's supply and use tables. Following the United Nations' System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), the use of this classification system enables the environmental accounts to be integrated with Canada's economic statistics, such as the gross domestic product.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is responsible for producing the official National Inventory Report: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada. This inventory, which fulfills Canada's reporting obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is consistent with guidelines published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and is the official benchmark for GHG emissions in Canada. National inventories under the UNFCCC and the GHG accounts under the United Nations' SEEA are based on different methodological frameworks that result in different GHG estimates; the sector definitions used to create the two products differ; thus the products should not be directly compared. For more information on the methodological differences, see the Canadian System of Environmental-Economic Accounts - Physical Flow Accounts metadata page and the greenhouse gas webpage of the Canadian Centre for Energy Information.

For more information, please contact Environmental Accounts and Statistics Division Client Services (statcan.environ-environ.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).