Global Climate-Friendly Trade: Canada’s Chance to Clean Up

The global market for technologies and services that reduce greenhouse gas emissions is exploding, with some estimating it will be the third largest global sector by 2020. But Canadian businesses have failed to seize new—or even maintain existing—opportunities to sell such technologies globally, according to this analysis of Canada’s trade in climate-friendly technologies. And while Canadians are slowly increasing their adoption of other countries’ climate-friendly technologies, they are doing so at a much slower rate than the world average. Despite this poor overall performance, the report finds that Canadian businesses “over-trade”— or have global strengths relative to other countries—in several specific climate-friendly technologies. With clear policy signals and more globally oriented business strategies, it is not too late for Canada to become a world leader in some climate-friendly technologies or related services.