Executive Summary
The Working Group on Aviation Emissions is pleased to present its ninth Annual Report under Canada’s Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aviation (the Action Plan). Aviation represents a major part of Canada’s transportation system and plays a crucial role facilitating the movement of people and goods both within the country and across borders. The sector is also a contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as flight operations to date have largely relied on the use of fossil fuel. Canada’s aviation sector, in partnership with the Government of Canada, has had a strong climate action strategy in place since 2005. Under this Action Plan, parties continue to voluntarily address these emissions by increasing efficiencies, adopting new green technologies, investing in infrastructure, and improving operations. These actions also contribute to six of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, industry also has a strong engagement presence with the government as Canada develops and implements effective climate change policies and market-based measures, such as the Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR) and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The report highlights that there has been significant progress to date on the on the Action Plan’s implementation.
The report is structured to cover a two-year period for 2020 and 2021, as the global pandemic had far-reaching impacts on the sector in these years. Emissions decreased by 61 percent between 2019 and 2020, followed by an additional 1 percent in 2021 due to lower activity levels resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic starting in early 2020. The impact of the pandemic also led to a decrease in operational efficiency, as aviation carriers were forced to adapt to an array of challenges. Despite these impacts, parties of the action plan have affirmed that reducing GHG emissions as of the utmost importance, and have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to conducting activities and implementing measures in pursuit of this objective including:
- fleet renewals and upgrades;
- more efficient aviation operations;
- improved air traffic management capabilities;
- aviation environmental research and development;
- sustainable aviation fuels;
- airport ground operations and infrastructure use;
- regulatory measures; and
- international coordination.
