1 Low Carbon Growth

The report analyzes the gap between Canada's GDP and GHG emissions, noting that while national decoupling has occurred, significant regional disparities exist. It highlights that Canada's economy remains more carbon-intensive than other developed nations and suggests three primary pathways for achieving low-carbon growth: reducing emissions intensity, reallocating resources, and accelerating the growth of low-carbon firms.

• Canada has achieved a decoupling of GHGs from GDP at the national level, although GHG emissions have remained relatively constant since 2005.
• Decoupling progress varies significantly by province; Prince Edward Island showed the most progress between 2005 and 2018, while Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and Alberta showed the least.
• Ontario's strong decoupling performance was primarily driven by the 2014 closure of coal-fired power plants and growth in low-carbon service sectors like real estate and high-tech.
• Saskatchewan and Alberta have economies most closely linked to GHG emissions, largely due to a heavy reliance on mining and oil and gas production.
• Compared to other developed economies, Canada's economy is more carbon-intensive based on both production-based and consumption-based CO2 productivity metrics.
• The document identifies three main strategies for achieving low-carbon growth: reducing the emissions intensity of existing growth sources, reallocating resources from high-carbon to low-carbon activities, and accelerating the growth of low-carbon firms.
• Data limitations regarding fuel purchases in other jurisdictions have made it challenging to accurately measure and compare low-carbon growth in Canada's territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2020). 1 Low Carbon Growth. https://climateinstitute.ca/reports/clean-growth/1-low-carbon-growth/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. 1 Low Carbon Growth. 2020. https://climateinstitute.ca/reports/clean-growth/1-low-carbon-growth/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=1 Low Carbon Growth |date=25 August 2020 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/reports/clean-growth/1-low-carbon-growth/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitute2020low, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{1 Low Carbon Growth}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/reports/clean-growth/1-low-carbon-growth/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }