Canada ranks 2nd-last in energy efficiency study

Canada has landed near the bottom of the first international energy efficiency rating of 12 major economies.

The non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) placed Canada at No. 11 out of 12 countries in its energy efficient score card.

The countries which included the U.S., Brazil, China, Germany and the United Kingdom accounted for 63 per cent of global energy consumption as well as 62 per cent of the worlds carbon dioxide emissions.

In measuring each country according to 27 criteria, the ACEEE examined energy use nation-wide as well as energy consumption in industry, buildings and transportation.

This is how the 12 countries stacked up in the scorecard:

1. United Kingdom
2. Germany
3. Italy
4. Japan
5. France
6. European Union, Australia and China (three-way tie)
7. U.S.
8. Brazil
9. Canada
10. Russia

Steven Nadel, executive director of the ACEEE, lauded the UK and the EU for being "well ahead" of North America for its energy efficiency but cautioned that none of the countries "received a perfect score in any category --- proving there is much that all countries can still learn from each other."

In the major categories, the U.K. landed on top for national energy use and industry while China achieved No. 1 status in buildings.As for transportation, Germany, Italy, China and the U.K. were tied.

Among the many elements that were analyzed were whether the country had fuel economy standards for vehicles and energy efficiency standards for appliances. Other factors included the energy consumed by each country relative to its gross domestic product and the energy consumed per square foot of floor space in residential buildings.

The reports author, Sara Hayes, noted that cost-effective energy efficiency is still a "massively underutilized energy resource" in industrialized nations and urged the countries to keep trying for better energy efficiency.