Alberta is Canada’s largest emitting province and the centre of its oil and gas industry, with a rapidly diversifying electricity grid following a completed coal phase-out and a strong foundation in carbon capture and storage.
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction is the province’s largest GDP sector, while exports remain overwhelmingly weighted toward energy products led by crude petroleum and petroleum gases.
Five sectors account for 234.9 Mt, or 90% of provincial emissions. Oil and gas alone represents 59% of the total, making it the defining decarbonization challenge for the province.
| Sector | Mt CO₂e | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Oil and gas | 153.6 Mt | 59% |
| Transportation | 23.4 Mt | 9% |
| Buildings | 20.3 Mt | 8% |
| Agriculture | 20.2 Mt | 8% |
| Electricity | 17.4 Mt | 7% |
| Other emissions | 25.3 Mt | 10% |
Choose a sector in the dropdown below, or in the ring, to see its emissions breakdown, economic and trade weight, its pathway emphasis.
Nearly six in ten tonnes of Alberta's emissions come from this single sector. It is a production-side problem, which makes methane control, intensity improvement, CCUS and electrification of field operations the main levers.
GDP: Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction is Alberta's largest GDP sector.
Exports: Crude petroleum oils $124.1B; Petroleum gases $8.7B; total energy exports $132.5B.
Alberta's second-largest emitting sector. Goods movement is tied to the logistics network carrying $183.2B in exports, 88.5% of it to the United States, so electrification, freight efficiency and fuel switching have to advance together.
Employment: Transportation and warehousing.
Goods movement supports $183.2B in total exports; 88.5% directed to the United States.
Residential and commercial buildings together emitted 20.2 Mt in 2023. Efficiency retrofits and fuel switching from natural gas to electric heating carry the load, and gain value as grid decarbonization proceeds.
GDP: Construction and real estate are among the largest GDP sectors after oil and gas; construction gained 6,400 jobs in 2024.
Building-related goods are a smaller share of Alberta exports relative to oil and gas.
Alberta's cattle herd, the largest in Canada, makes enteric methane the dominant source, with nitrous oxide from nitrogen fertilizer on Prairie cropland the second. These are biological rather than combustion emissions, so the levers are feed efficiency and genetics in feedlots, 4R nutrient stewardship, and manure management, supported by TIER agricultural offset protocols.
Canada's largest cattle-producing province with 4.9 million head (43.6% of the national herd); record 36.4 Mt field crop production in 2025; meat product manufacturing generates $13.1B annually.
Agri-food exports: $17.1B in 2025, led by beef ($4.0B), wheat ($3.2B), canola seed ($1.5B) and live cattle ($1.5B); 50.7% destined for the United States.
Grid remains predominantly natural gas-fired, with wind, solar and hydro supplying about 21% of generation in 2025. Continued decarbonization runs through renewables and storage, natural gas with CCUS, and stronger interties, while keeping pace with record load growth.
$5.3B wholesale energy market with 409 participants in 2025; average pool price fell 30%; Alberta hosted 54% of Canada's new wind and solar additions in 2024.
Electricity exports were six times imports in 2025 across interties with BC, Saskatchewan and Montana. Low-carbon power supports the competitiveness of export-oriented industries.
Detail coming soon for Other emissions.
| Actions | Sector weight |
|---|---|
|
OIL AND GAS
Reduce oil and gas emissions through methane abatement, intensity improvements and CCUS scale-up
Build on the 52% methane reduction achieved from 2014 to 2023, TIER's 2% annual benchmark tightening, and $1.9 billion in committed CCUS investments including the Alberta Carbon Capture Incentive Program.
|
59.1% of emissions |
|
TRANSPORTATION
Advance transportation electrification and freight decarbonization
Expand ZEV adoption and charging infrastructure, improve freight efficiency, and align with the direction of federal ZEV availability requirements.
|
9.0% of emissions |
|
BUILDINGS
Scale building retrofits and low-carbon heating deployment
Target residential and commercial buildings, which together emitted 20.2 Mt in 2023, through efficiency improvements and fuel switching from natural gas to electric heating as grid decarbonization proceeds.
|
7.8% of emissions |
|
AGRICULTURE
Reduce agricultural emissions through nitrogen management and livestock methane abatement
Scale 4R nutrient stewardship and the Nitrous Oxide Emission Reduction Protocol, already credited under Alberta's carbon offset system and associated with a 15-25% reduction in nitrous oxide, alongside conservation cropping, feed and manure management.
|
7.8% of emissions |
|
ELECTRICITY
Accelerate grid decarbonization beyond the coal phase-out
Expand renewable capacity toward the 30% generation target by 2030, integrate energy storage, and deploy natural gas generation with CCUS to reduce grid intensity from 470 g CO₂e/kWh.
|
6.7% of emissions |
economic viability score
Economic Viability description
