Montreal has greenest households

Montreal’s houses are the greenest and emit the least CO2, according to a new study that used census data to track the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the average Canadian household.

The homes in Montreal released the least out of all major Canadian cities, with 5.4 tonnes of CO2 gas being emitted on average per year. Vancouver was second with 7.2 tonnes, and Winnipeg third with 8.1. The worst was Edmonton, emitting 20.7 tonnes per year, per household.

But the habits of citizens aren’t likely to blame for the discrepancy, said Sumeet Gulati, associate professor at the University of British Columbia and one of the authors of the study.

“There’s a dichotomy. There’s the individual versus the city,” said Gulati. “Most people will be trying to do the best they can to save energy, and so it depends on where they end up being.”

Quebec, for example, uses green electric energy from hydro-electric dams. Edmonton, in contrast, uses coal — and residents tend to use more to stave off the prairie chill.

“A lot of this (difference) comes from clean energy and not using natural gas,” said Gulati. “A huge amount (of emissions) in Edmonton comes from the energy they get.”

Gulati said one finding from the study was the importance of provincial policy in reducing emissions.

“Policy matters. What our politicians do makes a big difference to how we, as households, end up emitting where we live,” he explained. “It’s not so much about individual choices, it’s more about what our society around us chooses about energy provision.”

Emissions over the past 12 years have been on the decline, Gulati noted. Canadian households have released 16 per cent less greenhouse gases overall, and it’s a trend he expects to continue, citing Alberta’s incoming carbon tax and the increased densification of cities. Cities that are denser have people that are less likely to drive, as well as smaller dwellings and apartments that use less heating.

“In the U.S. they seem to do a whole lot worse per household than we do in Canada,” said Gulati. A study with similar methodology found that San Diego was the greenest city in that country, with 26 tonnes per year — approximately five tonnes more than Canada’s worst city, Edmonton.

The full study is available at bit.ly/2anTtLo.