OPINION: How big are Canada’s carbon emissions? Compared to China, we’re a rounding error – by Tony Keller (Globe and Mail – May 30, 2023)

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Please note that Canada is the 4th biggest oil producer and the 6th largest natural gas producer in the world, and yet we still only contribute 1.5 per cent of global carbon emissions!- Stan Sudol

And two points to remember: Canada is the 4th biggest oil producer and the 6th largest natural gas producer in the world. And we still only contribute 1.5 per cent of global carbon emissions!! – Stan Sudol.

The statement from the most recent Group of Seven heads of government annual meeting, held earlier this month in Japan, is an encyclopedia of commitments and wishes, weighing in at 40 pages and 19,000 words. It takes positions on everything from human rights in Afghanistan to the challenge of artificial intelligence to the need for “stable access to affordable, safe, sufficient and nutritious food for each and every individual” on the planet.

There’s also a long section on climate change, and the urgency of lowering global emissions. As there should be. The average G7 leader, to say nothing of the average G7 citizen, may be under the impression that this confab, with Canada sat in the seventh seat, is the club of the world’s most powerful countries and a kind of alternative global government.

It isn’t. The G7 speaks for only a fraction of the Earth’s population. It also accounts for well under half the world’s economic output, a share that is steadily falling. And when it comes to greenhouse gases, the G7′s contribution is surprisingly small. Small, and shrinking.

That doesn’t mean a G7 country like Canada shouldn’t be taking major steps to lower our emissions. We’re part of the problem, and we’re part of the solution. It’s just that we’re not a very big part of either.

For the rest of this article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-how-big-are-canadas-carbon-emissions-compared-to-china-were-a-rounding/