How does Canada compare to its peers?
Canada ranks near the bottom—15th out of 17 countries—and earns a “C” grade overall on its environmental performance report card. Fifteen indicators are used to assess environmental performance across six dimensions: air quality, waste, water quality and quantity, biodiversity and conservation, natural resources management, and climate change and energy efficiency. Canada receives a “B” grade on eight of the fifteen indicators. But poor performances on climate change, water consumption, and waste generation drag down the overall ranking. The Nordic countries—Sweden, Finland, and Norway—along with Switzerland are the best performers, earning “A”s for environmental performance. The only countries that rank behind Canada are Australia and the U.S., which both receive “D”s.
Do geography and industrial structure affect environmental performance?
Yes. The three countries that rank lowest are the U.S., Australia, and Canada. They are the largest in land area, and they are among the most resource-intensive economies in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Resource extraction and processing industries often use a lot of water and may contribute to greater stresses on local air quality. As well, greater distances mean that greater amounts of energy are required to transport people and to move goods to where they will be consumed, leading to greater greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These factors are hurdles to overcome—through technology, innovation, efficiency, and behavioural changes—in improving Canada’s environmental performance.
Our environmental performance has been mixed, with improvement in some areas and stagnation or deterioration in others. Canada’s overall “C” grade, however, reveals that Canada is not taking the necessary steps toward environmental sustainability.
Canada has improved over the past two decades on key measures of air quality—acid rain and smog. However, other nations (such as Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands) have improved faster.
Canada’s GHG emissions per capita increased between 1990 and 2004 and are now among the highest in the world. The primary reason for the increase is a growth in such exports as petroleum, natural gas, and forest products. While those commodities are exported, the GHG emissions resulting from their production are not. Canada’s challenge will be to further reduce urban and regional air pollutants through pollution control policies, technological progress, energy savings, and sustainable transportation policies.
Our waste generation per capita has increased steadily since 1980. Today, Canada generates more waste per capita than any other OECD nation.
Canada has made progress in reducing the intensity of use of forest resources (the timber harvest-to-growth ratio). Canada’s energy intensity (that is, the ratio of energy use to GDP) has also decreased, thanks to the adoption of more energy-efficient technologies and a shift in the industrial structure away from energy-intensive industries and toward services. Boosting renewable energy as a share of total energy consumption will support the goal of mitigating climate change.