Canada's emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), major contributors to climate change, rose 25 percent between 1990 and 2005. However, without increases in energy efficiency, the increase in emissions would have been even greater.
In 2005, human activities released the equivalent of 747 megatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in Canada. This was up about 25 percent from emissions of 596 megatonnes in 1990.
One megatonne is equal to one million tonnes. To put this in perspective, driving a mid-size car about 5,000 kilometres results in about one tonne of emissions.
However, during the same 15-year period, the amount of GHGs emitted per unit of economic activity declined 18 percent, while the nation's population grew 17 percent, and energy use increased 23 percent.
This compilation of the most recent statistics related to climate change in Canada is published in the 2007 and 2008 edition of Human Activity and the Environment, Statistics Canada's compendium of information on how Canadians interact with their environment.
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