Canada ranks second-last among G8 countries on climate change efforts

Were it not for the United States, Canada would rank dead last among G8 countries when it comes to moving towards a low-carbon economy, according to a scorecard developed on behalf of Allianz SE and WWF International.

Allianz and WWF recently released online the results of their ‘G8 Climate Scorecards.’ Canada ranked seventh out of the G8 countries just ahead of the United States.

The only one of 12 rating categories in which Canada did not fail was in the area of carbon output per kWh of electricity. The scorecard found Canada ranked very low in terms of average energy efficiency in the categories of power, industry, households and transport. Particularly in the area of building codes, the scorecard noted of Canada: “energy performance requirements not ambitious or lacking.”

The scorecards are based on the assumption that global greenhouse gas emissions must not exceed levels that would raise the average global temperature by more than 2C compared to pre-industrial levels.

To do this, countries will need to cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, and by about 25-40 per cent below the 1990 level by 2020, the scorecard notes.

“The scorecards show that none of the leading industrialized countries is set to meet required emission reductions to stay within a two degree warming,” Regine Gnther, director of the WWF Climate Change Programme in Germany, said. “We have ten to 15 years left in which the global emissions have to peak and decline. Time is running out.” •