Anthony Taylor

Canada’s forestry sector is responsible for far more greenhouse gas emissions than show up in official tallies, potentially leading to policies that aren’t in line with the country’s climate goals, a new study suggests. The study found that annual greenhouse gas emissions attributable to forestry between 2005 and 2021 were, on average, nearly 91 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. By contrast, Canada’s official inventory report shows the forestry sector acting as a carbon sink. …The debate comes down to the way the federal government does its emissions accounting, said Anthony Taylor, at the University of New Brunswick. …The government doesn’t count the emissions from things like insect outbreaks and wildfires as part of the forestry sector’s total. …Environment and Climate Change Canada said the reporting categories and emission sources presented in its annual inventory report are based on guidelines from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).