Canada’s Air Pollutant Emissions Inventory Report 2022: chapter 2.4

2.4 Volatile organic compounds

In 2020, approximately 1.5 Mt of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were released in Canada (Table 2–6). Oil and Gas Industry was the largest contributor at 36% (534 kt) of total emissions with the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry sector emitting 35% (512 kt) of the national total. Paints and Solvents were the next-largest contributor, accounting for 18% (261 kt) of emissions, with General Solvent Use accounting for 13% (185 kt) of the national total. Transportation and Mobile Equipment sources accounted for 17% (256 kt) of emissions, with the Off-Road Gasoline / Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) / Natural Gas (NG) Vehicles and Equipment sector contributing 7.3% (107 kt) of the national total.

Commercial/Residential/Institutional sources represented 11% (165 kt) of VOC emissions, attributed mainly to Home Firewood Burning (7.8% or 114 kt). The other significant contributing VOC sources are Agriculture and Manufacturing, with 7.9% (115 kt) and 6.9% (101 kt) of total VOC emissions, respectively.

Between 1990 and 2020, VOC emissions decreased by 49% (1.4 Mt) (Figure 2–4). The most significant driver of this trend is a decrease in emissions from the Off-Road Gasoline/LPG/NG Vehicles and Equipment sector, due to increasingly stringent regulations on these spark-ignition engines.^{Footnote 5} Decreases in emissions from Light-Duty Gasoline Vehicles and Trucks throughout the majority of the time series also contributed to this trend. Transportation and Mobile Equipment also showed a decrease of VOCs (-33 kt or -12%) between the years 2019 and 2020. This reduction is mostly due to a decrease in the VKT in the Light-Duty Gasoline Vehicles and Trucks categories.  

Another driver to the downward VOC emissions trend between 1990 and 2020 is the Manufacturing category. The largest contributors to this decrease were from Wood Products and Chemicals Industry, although almost all sectors observed a declining VOC emissions trend from 1990 to 2020. The decrease in emissions from Wood Products can be attributed in part to facilities closing and decreased production of lumber and panel boards. The decrease in emissions from the Chemicals Industry can be attributed in part to facilities closing, the decreased production of paints and varnishes and in part to the installation of solvent recovery units and the implementation of Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) programs.

Furthermore, the Oil and Gas Industry also experienced a decrease in emissions between 1990 and 2020. VOC emissions from the Downstream Oil and Gas Industry sector declined overall from 1990 to 2006, with emissions remaining relatively stable between 2007 to 2019, and had a slight decrease between 2019 and 2020. The Upstream Oil and Gas Industry sector experienced increased emissions, which were more pronounced from 2013 to 2015, but there was a significant decrease of 14% (80 kt) between 2019 and 2020. This VOC reduction results from decreases in venting, storage losses, and equipment leaks at oil and natural gas production and processing facilities. While this can partly be attributed to a 5% reduction in total crude oil production and a 2% reduction in natural gas production, the majority of this decrease is due to a combination of other factors that coincided in 2020. Federal and provincial regulations to reduce fugitive CH4 and VOC emissions from oil and gas operations came into effect in 2020 (ECCC, 2018b; AB, 2018; BC, 2021; SK, 2020), and definitions for vent gas volumes were changed in updated reporting requirements in Alberta and Saskatchewan.^{Footnote 6}

The most significant changes in VOC emissions from 1990 to 2020 include:

• Transportation and mobile equipment: decrease of 79% (950 kt), with:
  • Off-road gasoline/LPG/NG vehicles and equipment: decrease of 86% (657 kt)
  • Light-duty gasoline vehicles and trucks: decrease of 62% (227 kt)
• Manufacturing: decrease of 61% (158 kt), with:
  • Wood products: decrease of 77% (82 kt)
  • Chemicals Industry: decrease of 67% (31 kt)
• Oil and Gas Industry: decrease of 12% (70 kt), with:
  • Upstream Oil and Gas Industry: increase of 8% (36 kt)
  • Downstream Oil and Gas Industry: decrease of 83% (106 kt)

Figure 2–4: Trends in Canadian Volatile organic compound emissions (1990 to 2020)

Table 2–6: National summary of annual volatile organic compound emissions

Notes:
Totals may not add up due to rounding.
0.00 Indicates emissions were truncated due to rounding.
- Indicates no emissions

Note:
Refer to Annex 4.4 for more information on international marine navigation and air transportation reporting emissions.