11 WAYS TO MEASURE CLEAN GROWTH

The Canadian Climate Institute identifies 11 indicators to track clean growth, categorized into goals (low-carbon growth and economic resilience), catalysts (technology development, adoption, trade, and infrastructure), and foundations (jobs, affordable energy, inclusive resilience, clean air, and ecosystems). The analysis reveals that while Canada has decoupled GDP from GHGs, progress is uneven across provinces, and significant data gaps hinder comprehensive policy tracking.

• Between 2005 and 2018, all Canadian provinces managed to decouple economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions, with six provinces actually decreasing emissions while their economies grew.
• Canada's economy is more carbon-intensive than other developed economies, showing lower CO2 productivity scores relative to international peers in both production-based and consumption-based metrics.
• The costs of floods and wildfires in Canada have increased over time due to both climate and non-climate factors, though data limitations prevent a full capture of these costs; for example, estimates for the 2016 Fort McMurray fire range from $4 billion to $9 billion.
• Economic activity from environmental and clean technology (ECT) products in Canada grew from approximately $50 billion in 2012 to over $60 billion in 2018, representing about 3% of GDP in 2018.
• Canada has a high proportion of low-carbon energy supply at 25%, but its energy use per unit of GDP (energy intensity) is significantly higher than other G7 countries.
• Trade in environmental and clean technology (ECT) as a share of Canada's GDP increased from 1.2% in 2012 to nearly 1.6% in 2018, with total trade volumes rising from $20 billion to $30 billion.
• Public and private investment in electricity transmission and distribution grew significantly between 2009 and 2019, whereas investment in wind and solar power declined by 78% over the same period.
• Aggregate employment in Canada grew by 16% between 2005 and 2018 while GHGs remained relatively stable (-0.1%), indicating a decoupling of jobs and emissions.
• Employment in Quebec is the least tied to GHG emissions, while employment in Saskatchewan is the most tied to emissions.
• Households in Atlantic Canada are most at risk of energy poverty, with those in the first, second, and third income quintiles spending 11% of their income on energy and public transit in 2017.
• The national poverty rate in Canada fell from 16% in 2006 to 9% in 2018, though rates remain high for single mothers under 18 and non-elderly adults living alone.
• Canada's managed forest land is a net carbon sink, sequestering around 140 Mt of CO2e in 2018, but this would shift to a net source of 110 Mt if natural disturbances like wildfires and insects were included.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2020). 11 WAYS TO MEASURE CLEAN GROWTH. https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/11-WAYS-TO-MEASURE-CLEAN-GROWTH_report.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. 11 WAYS TO MEASURE CLEAN GROWTH. 2020. https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/11-WAYS-TO-MEASURE-CLEAN-GROWTH_report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=11 WAYS TO MEASURE CLEAN GROWTH |date=September 2020 |url=https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/11-WAYS-TO-MEASURE-CLEAN-GROWTH_report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitute2020ways, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{11 WAYS TO MEASURE CLEAN GROWTH}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/11-WAYS-TO-MEASURE-CLEAN-GROWTH_report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }