Name
Estimating carbon emissions from peatland disturbance in Alberta’s oil sands region for Canada’s national greenhouse gas inventory
Date & Time
Monday, May 27, 2024, 4:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Description

Canada’s national inventory report is used to meet national and international greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting requirements, as well as helping to inform government on the carbon (C) impacts of land-use change and management. Approximately 100kha of peatlands are disturbed by oil and gas development in Alberta, yet currently wetland land-use conversion and restoration in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (OSR) is largely unreported in Canada’s national GHG inventory due to a lack of appropriate operational tools and emission factors. Peatlands have the capacity to remove and store carbon from the atmosphere, and reducing the rate of peatland conversion and changes in management practices have been identified as an important ‘Natural Climate Solution’ aimed at reducing emissions from the land sector. Therefore, novel, scalable research is needed to support the development of tools to better quantify the C impacts of peatland management in the OSR. In this study, we parameterized the Canadian Model for Peatlands (CaMP) to simulate different oil and gas extraction and exploration activities using compiled data from oil sands practitioners. CaMP model runs were used to develop emission factors for different combinations of peatland types, disturbances, and regeneration outcomes. We then applied emission factors to activity data using a new peatland distribution map product, and Alberta’s Human Footprint Inventory (HFI 2020) to determine estimates of carbon emissions and removals in the OSR from 1990-2023. Knowledge gaps, uncertainty, and challenges will be presented as a basis for future work.

Location Name
Conference Room - 2228
Full Address
Carleton University - Richcraft Hall
1125 Colonel By Dr
Ottawa ON K1S 5B6
Canada
Session Type
Breakout Session