2022 GTHA Carbon Emissions Inventory

Summary

Carbon emissions increased across all six regions in 2022.

Increase of 8% to 54 millon tonnes from 2021 to 2022.

Read the full Summary

54 Mt total emissions, an 8% increase from 2021

+4%

+8%

2020

2021

2022

9% annual decrease needed to hit 2030 targets across the GTHA

46% are from buildings, which remain top source of emissions.

The densely populated GTHA is the second-largest financial centre in North America and represents approximately half of Ontario's total emissions.

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) in Canada includes the City of Toronto, the City of Hamilton, and the regional municipalities of Halton, Peel, York, and Durham.

This 8,244 square kilometre urban region, home to 7.3 million people, is Canada's commercial, distribution, and financial core. Almost half of Ontario's emissions come from this region.

TAF acknowledges these boundaries were created by settlers and do not reflect the Indigenous peoples who have occupied these lands for thousands of years or their traditional territories or treaties.

Contiguous urban land8,244.42 km²

Total population7.4 million

Regional Data

Regional Emissions at a Glance

Carbon Emissions across the GTHA

Includes the cities of Oshawa and Pickering, the towns of Whitby and Ajax, the Municipality of Clarington, and the Townships of Scugog, Uxbridge, and Brock.

Includes the City of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hills.

The fifth largest city in Ontario and the tenth largest in Canada.

Includes the cities of Brampton and Mississauga and the Town of Caledon.

With a population of almost 2.8 million, the City of Toronto is Canada’s largest city.

Includes the cities of Markham, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan, and the towns of Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, Newmarket, and Whitchurch-Stouffville, and the Township of King.

Sector Data

Sector Emissions at a Glance

Emissions are now at the highest levels since 2015. Continuing to delay reductions will compromise reaching climate targets.

Emissions increased by nearly 9% in 2022, the highest increase in a single year since 2015.

Emissions have seen little change over the past 8 years, with cement and steel accounting for more than two-thirds of these emissions.

Little progress in reducing waste emissions highlights the ongoing importance of reducing waste overall and increasing landfill diversion.

Emissions remain largely unchanged over the past 8 years, driven mainly by the application of nitrogen fertilizers to agricultural lands.