Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, ON — April 2, 2024

A recent peer-review study found that the federal government understated GHG emissions from logging by almost 100 million tonnes a year between 2005 and 2021.

The signatories to the letter state that “the review’s failure to address Canada’s approach to estimating and reporting emissions calls into question its ability to deliver on its goals of ensuring ‘comparable, transparent and credible GHG accounting.’”

Canada’s Office of the Auditor General has also urged the federal government to review the way that it estimates and reports forestry and logging emissions.

Instead, the review, launched earlier this year by the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, does not address how the government estimates emissions, only what baseline is used to assess progress in reducing emissions.

Concern about lack of accurate and transparent reporting of forestry and logging emissions has been raised by international scientists, MPs and Senators, health and environment groups, and most recently, Canada’s Net Zero Advisory Body.

Representatives from the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecotrust Canada, Nature Canada, Nature Quebec, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Ontario Nature, Sierra Club Canada, Sierra Club BC, Stand.earth, Wilderness Committee, and Wildlands League all signed the letter, which they addressed to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.

They recommend that the Ministers “act to ensure the effectiveness and legitimacy of the review by including in it a consideration and discussion of how Canada estimates and reports logging and forestry emissions.”

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For more information contact: 

Scott Mullenix
613-562-3447 ext. 230
media@naturecanada.ca