The decarbonization project’s Canadian research team found that if our country were follow three strategies (boosting energy efficiency, switching from non-renewable to renewable electricity generation and using electricity over fossil fuels for transportation, heating, etc.), by 2050 our emissions would be 80 per cent lower than they were in 2010.

By boosting energy efficiency, Canada could experience the same GDP growth in 2050 as it does today with half the energy, according to the decarbonization scenario.

Canada has already begun cleaning up its electricity generation systems. In 2014, Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to stop using coal to produce electricity and other provinces have recently pledged to reduce their coal-powered generation. According to the research team’s scenario, if this momentum continues, most of Canada’s electricity will come from renewable resources (figure 5) by 2050.