A resource-rich and export-oriented economy, Canada benefited a great deal from the commodity boom in the 2000s. With its economy growing faster than the OECD average, Canada decoupled economic growth from air pollution, energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the country remains one of the most energy- and emissions-intensive economies in the OECD. Canada needs to accelerate the transition to a green, low-carbon economy.

1. Anthony Cox,
Director
OECD Environment Directorate
19 December 2017
Environmental
Performance
Reviews
Canada
2017

2. 2
Canada decoupled economic growth
from environmental pressures
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
2000=100
GDP GHG Electricity consumption PM₂̣₅
Source: ECCC (2017), National Inventory Report 1990-2015; IEA (2017), World Energy Statistics and Balances
(database); OECD (2017), OECD Environment Statistics (database).

3. 3
Ambitious environmental goals
“Improved partnerships with provincial,
territorial, and municipal governments are
essential to deliver the real, positive change
that we promised Canadians.”
“No relationship is more important to me and
to Canada than the one with Indigenous
Peoples
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Haida Totem Pole

4. A relatively clean electricity mix
4
Source: IEA (2017), IEA World Energy Statistics and Balances (database).
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
TWh
Canada
Coal and coal products Oil Natural gas Nuclear
Hydro Solar/wind/other Biofuels and wasteª
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
TWh
OECD

5. 5
But Canada remains a carbon-intensive
economy, reliant on fossil fuels
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
kg CO2 per US dollar of GDP, 2010 PPP, 2015
Source: OECD (2017), OECD Environment Statistics (database).

6. It is the fourth largest GHG emitter
in the OECD
6

7. GHG emissions from transport and
the oil and gas industry are rising
7
Oil and gas
Transportation
Buildings
Electricity
Heavy industry
Waste
Agriculture
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Mt CO2 eq
Source: ECCC (2017), National Inventory Report 1990-2015

8. 8
Canada’s climate targets are ambitious
Source: ECCC (2017), National Inventory Report 1990-2015

9. 9
Environmental taxes are needed to set
the right price signals
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
%
Environmentally related tax revenue as share of GDP
2014 2000
Source: OECD (2017), "Environmental policy instruments", OECD Environment Statistics (database)
1.1%
1.3%

10. Low taxes on road fuels, notably diesel
10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Gasoline (road use) Diesel (road use)
Tax rate (EUR per GJ)
Canada
Source: Adapted from OECD (2015),Taxing Energy Use

11. 11
Source: OECD (2016), Effective Carbon Rates.
Canada-wide carbon pricing will
strengthen price signals
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
ECR Level
(in EUR/ t CO2)
% of CO2 emissions
2012 2018 2022

12. 12
Public R&D investment in the energy
sector has increased
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Composition of public energy RD&D budgets, 2004-15
Energy efficiency
Fossil fuels
Renewable energy sources
Nuclear
Hydrogen and fuel cells
Other power and storage technologies
Other cross cutting/research
USD million, 2015 prices
Source: OECD (2017), Government Budget Appropriations or Outlays for R&D (database)

13. 13
But little research is going into
renewable energy and energy efficiency
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Public RD&D budgets for renewables and energy efficiency,
percentage of total public energy RD&D, 2013
Source: OECD (2017), Government Budget Appropriations or Outlays for R&D (database)

14. Canada has potential
for becoming more innovative
14
OECD (2017), "Patents", OECD Environment Statistics (database).
Green patents on higher-value inventions per million residents,
2011-2013 average, top 15 OECD countries

15. 15
Opportunities to increase green
infrastructure

16. More protected areas are needed
to achieve international commitments
16

17. 17
Air quality is generally good
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Average annual population exposure to air pollution (PM2.5),
2000 and 2013
2013 2000µg/m3
OECD (2017), "Exposure to Air Pollution", OECD Environment Statistics (database).

18. 18
Canadian households produced
30% more waste than in 2002
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
2002=100
Generation of non-hazardous waste, 2002-14
Residential waste
GDP
Population
Non-residential
waste
Source: Statistics Canada (2016), Materials Disposed and Diverted, CANSIM (database).

19. 19
Urban wastewater management has
improved

20. 20
A relatively large share of Canadians
relies on primary wastewater treatment
% of population connected to public wastewater treatment plants,
ten countries with highest share of primary treatment, 2015 or latest available year

21. 21
Wastewater systems have been
improved in First Nations communities
14%
3%
51%
52%
35%
45%
2009-11 2015-16
% of community wastewater systems posing an overall risk
to the community members they serve
Low overall risk
Medium overall risk
High overall risk
Source: INAC (2016); INAC (2012).

22. Thank you
Environmental
Performance
Reviews
Canada
2017