The book, Canadian Edition 2025

Facts on 22 prominent climate topics

What Net Zero asks of Canadians, what it would change, and what the evidence says about the climate. Each topic is a short chapter with its figures and sources, in the style of Climate at a Glance.

Read it freeGraphics & references (PDF)

Free for members. Sign in or register — it takes a minute.

Cover of Energy & Climate at a Glance, Canadian Edition 2025

By H. Sterling Burnett and Ron Davison. Published by Canadians for Sensible Climate Policy. 86 pages. ISBN 978-1-0691053-0-1.

Inside the book

22 topics in 5 sections. Each section makes one case.

  1. 01Canadian Climate Commitments to Net Zero at 20505 topics
  2. 02Domestic CO2 Restrictions Are Futile and Harmful4 topics
  3. 03There Is No ‘Climate Crisis’6 topics
  4. 04The Benefits of Fossil Fuels and CO26 topics
  5. 05What Are Our Best Options?1 topic

Section 1 of 5

Canadian Climate Commitments to Net Zero at 2050

Ottawa promised Net Zero. Nobody has shown Canadians the bill.

Table of Canada’s 2030 emissions plan by sector, in megatonnes: 739 in 2005, 730 in 2019 and a planned 443 in 2030, a 40 per cent cut. Electricity is to fall 88 per cent, waste 49, heavy industry 39, buildings 37, oil and gas 31, transportation 11 and agriculture 1.
What Ottawa’s 2030 plan asks of each sector. Section 1, Figure 2.1.

The topics

  1. 01The Paris Agreement and Net Zero
  2. 02Canada’s CO2 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
  3. 03Canada’s Path and Obstacles to Net Zero
  4. 04Economic Impact of Meeting Global and Canadian Targets
  5. 05Environmental and Social Impact

Section 2 of 5

Domestic CO2 Restrictions Are Futile and Harmful

Canada’s share of global emissions is small. Our sacrifices won’t change the climate.

Pie chart of greenhouse gas emissions by nation in 2022: China 25.9 per cent, United States 11.1, Africa 8.8, India 7.5, European Union 6.2, Russia 4.3, Brazil 4.2, Indonesia 4.0, Japan 2.0, Iran 1.7, Saudi Arabia 1.5, Canada 1.5, rest of the world 21.3.
Greenhouse gas emissions by nation, 2022. Section 2, Figure 2.1.

The topics

  1. 06Can Net Zero Goals Be Realistically Met?
  2. 07How Will Canada’s Net Zero Sacrifice Impact Global Emissions?
  3. 08What Will Our Sacrifices Cost? What Will We Gain?
  4. 09How Will Canada’s Climate Sacrifices Position the Nation Economically & Geopolitically?

Section 3 of 5

There Is No ‘Climate Crisis’

The data show no crisis, and cold still kills far more people than heat.

Bar chart of deaths from excess cold and excess heat, 2000 to 2019, in millions. Cold deaths are higher in every region: Asia 2.4 against 0.22, Africa 1.2 against 0.026, China 0.97 against 0.071, Europe 0.66 against 0.18, India 0.66 against 0.084, USA 0.15 against 0.019.
Deaths from cold and from heat, 2000 to 2019, from a Lancet study. Section 3, Figure 6.2.

The topics

  1. 10CO2 Does Not Control the Temperature
  2. 11Climate Model Projections Don’t Reflect Real Temperatures
  3. 12Urban Heat Island Effect Boosts Surface Temperature Records
  4. 13Extreme Weather and Weather-Related Disasters Are Not Getting Worse
  5. 14Oceans Aren’t Acidifying, Islands Aren’t Disappearing, Sea Level Rise Is Normal
  6. 15Warming Is Saving Lives

Section 4 of 5

The Benefits of Fossil Fuels and CO2

Fossil fuels and CO2 feed, heal, and green the planet.

World map of the change in leaf area from 1982 to 2015. Most vegetated land is shaded green, meaning increases of 5 to more than 50 per cent; small patches show declines.
Change in leaf area, 1982 to 2015, from NASA. Section 4, Figure 4.1.

The topics

  1. 16Petroleum Products
  2. 17Fossil Fuels in Agriculture, Transportation, and Medicine
  3. 18Poverty Rates, Lifespan, and Infant Mortality
  4. 19More CO2 Is Greening the Earth
  5. 20More CO2 Means More Food
  6. 21Warming Is Good for Civilization

Section 5 of 5

What Are Our Best Options?

Practical first steps, and a call for Canadians to lead.

The topic

  1. 22What Are Our Best Options?

Read the whole book

Every topic above has its own short chapter, with the figures and sources behind it. Members read it free online. Not a member yet? Registering takes a minute.

Read it freeGraphics & references (PDF)

Styled after The Heartland Institute’s Climate at a Glance. Creative director: Donald Kendal, The Heartland Institute. Figures reproduced from the book’s graphics and references companion.