Canada’s climate calendar

This evening I attended the launch of Canada’s climate calendar.  It’s an interactive tool you can see online which compares Canada’s per-capita emissions with those of other countries in the world.  It is horrifying.

By January 15, for example, the average Canadian had emitted more carbon emissions than the average citizen of Bangladesh will emit in a whole year.  Bangladesh is a particularly heartbreaking example of how climate change hurts most those who are least responsible, since much of this low-lying country of over 100 million people is expected to be under water as a result of anticipated sea level rise this century.  The next day, January 16, we left Ethiopians behind as well.  By the end of the first month of the year, Canada’s emissions outstripped annual emissions for 44 countries, including India.  By the end of February, Canadians are emitting more per capita than most countries will emit in a whole year.  In March we surpass China and Brazil.

Developed countries are clustered as a group in June on Canada’s climate calendar.  Canadian emissions surpassed the annual emissions of France back on May 24, Italy on June 3, Spain a week later and Japan on the 18th.  On June 20th, Canada’s emissions so far exceeded those that England will make this whole year.  In a few days, our emissions will outsrip those of Norway, another cold northern country that exports oil yet whose citizens emit less than half the carbon we do.  We’ll leave Greece behind on July 3, and by September the remaining countries slow to a trickle.  The last country on the calendar is New Zealand, which Canada leaves behind two full months before the end of the year, although a half dozen countries are not on the calendar, having per-capita emissions higher than Canada’s.