No. H145/06For release November 14, 2006
CANADA'S NEW GOVERNMENT PROVIDES
ONLINE TOOL TO HELP CITIES REDUCE
GREENHOUSE GASES AND POLLUTING EMISSIONS
OTTAWA − Transport Canada has launched a new online tool that helps cities
estimate the annual impact on greenhouse gases and other emissions from
transportation-related projects such as new transit or roads.
"This Government is focused on improving the environment in Canada by taking
realistic action to reduce both air pollution and greenhouse gases," said the
Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, on behalf of the Honourable
Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
"The Urban Transportation Emissions Calculator is a simple and user-friendly
tool that demonstrates the Government of Canada's commitment to work with cities
to protect the environment," said Minister Cannon. "This tool helps cities
reduce greenhouse gases and protect the health of Canadians."
The Urban Transportation Emissions Calculator is an Internet-based tool for
urban transportation professionals to calculate transportation-related
emissions, including greenhouse gases and criteria air contaminants (e.g.
carbon, nitrous and sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds and particles).
The tool calculates both direct and indirect emissions from passenger,
commercial and urban transit vehicles. Direct emissions are released directly
from the tailpipe of a vehicle, while indirect emissions are created and
released from the production of electricity used by electric vehicles as well as
from the production, refining and transportation of transportation fuels.
The Urban Transportation Emissions Calculator also allows municipalities to plan
and report transport-related emissions in a more standardized manner. It
considers the impacts of new technologies and alternative fuels on greenhouse
gas emissions and air pollutants based on existing technologies and available
data.
In addition to the Emissions Calculator, Transport Canada provides a wide
variety of resources to help Canadian municipalities implement transportation
solutions through the Urban Transportation Information Network at
www.tc.gc.ca/utsp.
The Urban Transportation Emissions Calculator is available online at
www.tc.gc.ca/UTEC .
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Contacts:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport,
Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-993-0055
Robin Browne
Communications
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-991-0700
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at apps.tc.gc.ca/listserv/ and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada.
This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons with visual disabilities.
Backgrounder:
URBAN TRANSPORTATION EMISSIONS CALCULATOR
What is it?
The Urban Transportation Emissions Calculator is an Internet-based tool for
urban transportation professionals to calculate transportation related
emissions, including greenhouse gases and criteria air contaminants (e.g.
carbon, nitrous and sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds and particles).
Users of the tool can input data such as the number of kilometres travelled by
vehicles, average travel speeds and vehicle fuelling characteristics.
The calculator helps to build capacity in municipalities and allows standardized
planning and reporting on emissions from transportation projects.
How will cities use it?
This tool may be beneficial to municipalities in addressing their reporting
requirements related to the investment of federal gas tax funding ($5 billion
over five years) or in preparing funding requests for other infrastructure
programs. The federal gas tax funding allows municipalities to invest in
projects that will achieve three main outcomes: reductions in GHG emissions,
along with cleaner air and cleaner water.
What does it do?
The tool estimates greenhouse gas and air contaminant emissions for the following vehicles:
light-duty passenger vehicles (e.g. automobiles, light trucks);
light-duty commercial vehicles;
heavy-duty commercial vehicles;
public transit buses;
public transit trolley buses;
light rail/Metro (electric and diesel); and
heavy rail (diesel).
The tool calculates both the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions
associated with the operation of vehicles. Direct greenhouse gas emissions are
released from the tailpipe of a vehicle. Indirect greenhouse gas emissions are
created and released from the production of electricity used by electric
vehicles (i.e., trolleys and light rail) as well as from the production,
refining and transportation of transportation fuels (i.e., from wells to pump).
The tool does not, however, address life-cycle emissions associated with the
manufacture and end of life recycling of vehicles. Due to the unavailability of
appropriate emission factors, only direct criteria air contaminant emissions are
estimated.
The tool also considers the impacts of new technologies and alternative fuels
on greenhouse gas and criteria air contaminant emissions based on existing
technologies and available data. The table below shows the different fuel types
that can be entered in the tool.
Vehicle-technology combinations
Technology
Vehicle
LDPV
LDCV
HDCV
Transit Bus
Gasoline
•
•
•
•
Diesel
•
•
•
•
Propane
•
•
•
•
Natural gas
• CNG
• CNG
• LNG
• LNG
Ethanol (E10)
•
•
•
•
Ethanol (E85)
•
•
•
•
Methanol (M85)
•
•
•
•
Hybrid
•
•
•
•
Electric-battery
•
•
•
•
Electric-fuel cell
•
•
•
•
Note: See glossary for definition of all acronyms
The calculator also requires the user to select the province or the
municipality of interest and the study year. This allows the user of the
calculator to account for the varied provincial breakdowns of light-duty
passenger vehicles (i.e., proportion of automobiles versus light trucks) as well
as the differing greenhouse gas intensities associated with electricity
production in each province. It also allows the selection of a modelling year in
five-year increments from 2006 through 2031 (to correspond with Census years),
as vehicle fuel efficiencies and other emission factors are predicted to improve
in the future.
Glossary
CNG: Compressed natural gas
LNG: Liquid natural gas
LDPV: Light-duty passenger vehicles
LDCV: Light-duty commercial vehicles
HDCV: Heavy-duty commercial vehicles
November 2006