A 2024 study published in Science found that organic carbon emissions from Alberta's oil sands may be up to 64 times higher than industry-reported figures. Researchers from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Yale, Harvard, and Peking University used aircraft measurements to detect gas-phase organic carbon that standard reporting methods miss. Total organic carbon from Alberta's oil sands now equals emissions from all other sources across Canada combined. The study highlights how underreported emissions undermine carbon accounting and climate policy. These organic compounds form secondary pollutants like PM2.5 and ozone, which have direct health and climate impacts. Both the Canadian and Alberta governments have not acted on the findings, despite similar warnings from a 2016 study. The gap between reported and actual emissions raises serious questions about the integrity of carbon market offsets and national inventory reporting.
