Clean Growth in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia has achieved significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions between 2005 and 2018 while maintaining economic growth, driven by fuel switching in electricity, energy efficiency, and a growing clean tech sector. However, the province faces structural unemployment in rural and Indigenous communities, high energy costs for households, and difficulties in decarbonizing the transportation sector to meet its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

• Nova Scotia achieved the second-largest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions among Canadian provinces and territories between 2005 and 2018, with a decrease of 26 per cent. During this same period, the province's inflation-adjusted GDP grew by 14 per cent and job growth increased by 3 per cent.
• The transition of the electricity sector from fossil fuels to renewables has been a primary driver of emissions reductions. The share of fossil fuels in the electricity mix dropped from 89 per cent in 2007 to 65 per cent in 2018, with wind power increasing from 1 per cent to 12 per cent of the mix in that timeframe.
• Energy efficiency initiatives have significantly reduced emissions and costs, with energy-saving measures cutting approximately 1 million tonnes of GHG emissions annually. Nova Scotia established Canada's first independent energy efficiency utility in 2009 and ranks third nationally for heat pump installations per capita.
• The environmental and clean technology (ECT) sector is a growing economic driver, with GDP in this sector increasing by 31 per cent between 2012 and 2018, outpacing the national growth rate of 19 per cent. ECT exports grew by 67 per cent during this period.
• Structural economic shifts have seen a contraction in goods-producing sectors and growth in services, which now represent 81 per cent of the economy. Between 2005 and 2018, GDP from oil and gas fell by 87 per cent and coal mining fell by 84 per cent.
• Rural and Indigenous communities face severe structural unemployment due to the decline of industrial activities. In 2016, the Eskasoni First Nation had the highest unemployment rate in the province at 26 per cent.
• Achieving the target of net-zero emissions by 2050 will be challenging due to a continued reliance on coal-fired electricity and stagnant progress in the transportation sector. Electric vehicle sales in Nova Scotia accounted for only 0.03 per cent of total annual vehicle sales, compared to a 3.5 per cent national average.
• Energy affordability remains a significant issue, with Nova Scotians spending a larger share of their household income on energy than the Canadian average. Lower- to middle-class households spend 60 per cent more of their budget on energy than the average Canadian.
• Air quality in some rural Nova Scotian municipalities is poor, with ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter levels sometimes approaching those found in Toronto. Health Canada estimates that approximately 260 Nova Scotians die prematurely from air pollution each year.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2020). Clean Growth in Nova Scotia. https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/clean-growth-in-nova-scotia/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Clean Growth in Nova Scotia. 2020. https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/clean-growth-in-nova-scotia/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Clean Growth in Nova Scotia |date=18 September 2020 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/clean-growth-in-nova-scotia/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitute2020clean, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Clean Growth in Nova Scotia}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/clean-growth-in-nova-scotia/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }