Appendix B – Reconciliation of Definitions

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Reconciliation of Definitions for Estimated Greenhouse Gas Emissions Found in This Handbook With Environment and Climate Change Canada’s National Inventory Report 2000–20192

Introduction

In this handbook, Energy Use Data Handbook 2000 to 2019 (EUDH), the data on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are estimated using emissions factors developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The emissions estimates provided here mirror the sectoral definitions used to calculate the estimates presented in ECCC’s National Inventory Report 2000–2019 (NIR-2019). Both Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and ECCC use the energy demand data from Statistics Canada’s Report on Energy Supply and Demand in Canada as a base.

However, the two organizations use different sectoral mappings. ECCC prepares its emissions inventory according to the specifications of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, while NRCan has developed mapping that is more suited to energy end-use analysis.

The objective of this appendix is to help readers understand the similarities and differences between EUDH and NIR-2019 emissions estimates for the five sectors covered in this handbook.

Residential Sector

EUDH and NIR-2019 differ in their definitions of residential emissions:

  • EUDH residential emissions include end-use, electricity-related emissions, which are reported under power generation in NIR-2019.

Commercial/Institutional Sector

There is only one difference between EUDH and NIR-2019 definitions of commercial/institutional emissions:

  • EUDH commercial/institutional emissions include end-use, electricity-related emissions, which NIR-2019 includes them under power generation.

Industrial Sector

There are many differences between EUDH and NIR-2019 definitions in the industrial sector:

  • NIR-2019 reallocates industrial diesel fuel use from the industrial sector to the transportation sector.
  • EUDH reallocates producers’ consumption of petroleum products from the producers’ consumption category to the petroleum refining and upstream mining industries. NIR-2019 reports this as consumption of fossil fuels.
  • NIR-2019 reallocates industrial coke use from energy use in the industrial sector to non-energy use in industrial processes.
  • EUDH industrial emissions include end-use, electricity-related emissions. NIR-2019 reports them under power generation.
    • NIR-2019 includes producers’ consumption of non-fossil fuels in the fossil fuel categories. EUDH does not report this consumption.
    • NIR-2019 also reallocates estimates of emissions from upstream oil and gas flaring to fugitive emissions from the fossil fuel sector.

Transportation Sector

EUDH and NIR-2019 differ in their definitions of transportation emissions:

  • NIR-2019 reallocates industrial and agriculture diesel and agriculture motor gasoline to the transportation sector.
  • NIR-2019 includes pipeline-related emissions in the transportation sector.
  • NIR-2019 excludes emissions resulting from the use of energy in the foreign aviation and marine subsectors.
  • EUDH transportation emissions include end-use, electricity-related emissions, which are reported under power generation in NIR-2019.

Electricity Generation Sector

There is only one difference between EUDH and NIR-2019 for the electricity generation sector:

  • NIR-2019 reports emissions from electricity and steam generation at the aggregate level, while the EUDH reports emissions for electricity generation only. Note that in its Annex 9 “Electricity Intensity Tables,” NIR-2019 reports detailed emissions from electricity generation that are similar to those found in this handbook.
  1. Canada’s official GHG inventory is available on the Environment and Climate Change Canada website at https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/greenhouse-gas-emissions/inventory.html.
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