
Air
We’re all breathing the same air, and keeping it clean is a priority for us.
Our industry members have made great strides in clean air initiatives:
- Today’s transportation fuels are the product of years of continuous improvement by our industry: more efficient vehicle performance; a reduction in the amount of emissions produced by fuels; and lower toxicity of unburned fuel.
- Our industry has invested over $5-billion to reduce sulphur levels in gasoline by more than 90 percent, and in diesel by 97 percent since 2005. The industry has also spent an additional $1.2-billion to meet Tier 3 low sulphur fuel standards.
- Smog-forming emissions of a 2005 vehicle (or newer) are 90 percent lower than a 1993 model.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada predicts that by 2030, total Canadian on-road vehicle emissions for nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter (PM2.5) will drop by 83 percent, 76 percent and 63 percent, respectively, compared to 2005.
- Canadian refineries have also made impressive improvements in the number of atmospheric emissions they create:
- Sulphur oxide emissions are down 54 percent, since 2002
- Nitrogen oxide emissions have decreased by 42 percent, since 2002
- Volatile organic compound emissions are down 49 percent, since 2002
- Benzene emissions are down by 38 percent since 2002
You can find year-by-year vehicle emissions figures here, and a look at refinery emissions and benzene levels below.