A helicopter waterbomber flies above the Cameron Bluffs wildfire near Port Alberni, British Columbia, on June 6.
Photographer: James MacDonald/BloombergWildfires Are Set to Double Canada’s Climate Emissions This Year
The carbon toll of the country’s fires this year will likely far outweigh emissions from its oil and gas, transport and agriculture sectors—combined.
When the greenhouse gases released from Canada’s 2023 wildfires are eventually tallied, they will be at least double the emissions from all other sectors of the nation’s economy combined, according to a top government scientist who has spent three decades measuring the carbon footprint of forests.
The 2023 emissions are “off the scale” compared to previous years, said Werner Kurz, a senior research scientist with Natural Resources Canada. Kurz’s team helped create a carbon budget model for Canada’s forestry sector which is used by governments and scientists around the world.