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Home / Climate / Climate Prosperity / Measuring Up: Benchmarking Canada’s Competitiveness in a Low-Carbon World / Measuring Up: Benchmarking Canada’s Competitiveness in a Low-Carbon World – Advise / Benchmarking – Chapter 5.2

Benchmarking – Chapter 5.2

5.2 Indicator Definitions
INDICATOR DEFINITION CALCULATION
     
CARBON PRODUCTIVITY Ratio of GDP per unit of greenhouse gas emissions Total GDP production (expressed in US$) (Source: WB) divided by the production of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions (Source: IPCC), 2007
     
EMBODIED CARBON IN EXPORTS Percentage of carbon emissions embodied in exports Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions embodied in exports expressed as a percentage of the production-based emissions (Source: Peters & Hertwich, 2007, using 2001 data)
     
LOW-CARBON ELECTRICITY Share of net electricity produced from low-carbon sources The sum of solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, and hydroelectric power generated divided by total net electricity generated (Source: EIA), 2006 (or latest available date) (% of total million tonnes of oil equivalent)
     
LOW-CARBON ENERGY PATENTS Domestic low-carbon related patents per million people Gross number of patent applications filed under the PCT relating to renewable energy, fuel cells and nuclear (source: Patent Transfer Office) divided by population (source: WB) for 2005 and multiplied by 1,000,000
     
ENERGY SECTOR EXPENDITURE ON R&D Private energy sector R&D expenditures per GDP Energy sector R&D expenditures in 2008 US$ and exchange rates in 1,000,000 divided by current US$ GDP in 1,000 (Source: WB for GDP data)
     
GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE ON LOW-CARBON ENERGY R&D Government low-carbon energy R&D expenditures per GDP R&D expenditures in 2008 US$ and exchange rates in 1,000,000 divided by current US$ GDP in 1,000 (Source: IEA OECD R&D Database, WB for GDP data)
     
THE NUMBER OF SUSTAINABILITY MBA PROGRAMS Sustainability MBA programs per million people. This represents a proxy for the production of skilled managers adept at understanding business needs through the lens of sustainable development Number of MBA programs with a sustainability stream, as per listings in Beyond Grey Pinstripes study (2009) divided by population (source: WB) multiplied by 1,000,000
     
SHARE OF LOW-CARBON TECHNICAL GRADUATES Percentage of total postsecondary graduates in low-carbon disciplines Number of post-secondary graduates in the fields of science and technology divided by the total number of post-secondary graduates (Source: UNESCO 2005)
     
POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION SPENDING PER STUDENT AS A SHARE OF GDP PER CAPITA Ratio of per student spending against GDP per capita Reported current government spending on post-secondary education, divided by the total number of pupils in post-secondary education, expressed as a percentage of per capita GDP (Source: UNESCO 2006)
     
CLEAN TECHNOLOGY IPO Average annual domestic IPO value in US$ Average IPO value for clean technology firms, expressed in US$, 2006 (or latest available date). (Source: Cleantech Group)
     
CLEAN TECHNOLOGY VENTURE CAPITAL Venture capital investments in clean technology per $000s GDP Total venture capital dedicated to clean technology, represented as a share of GDP (Source: Cleantech Group for Investments, WB for GDP data)
     
LOW-CARBON STIMULUS SPENDING Percent of total economic stimulus plan (2008/09) funding directed to low-carbon power initiatives Percentage of total economic stimulus plan funding directed to low-carbon power (renewables, CCS/other), energy efficiency (building EE, low-carbon vehicles), rail and grid. (Source: HSBC 2009)
     
LOW-CARBON GROWTH PLAN Existence of a national strategic plan to assist the country in shifting its development path to a low-carbon economy Yes or No (Various sources)
     
GHG TARGETS & ACCOUNTABILITY Existence of (1) a medium-term GHG targets, (2) a central independent body to measure progress and performance, (3) a public reporting role for the central independent body, and (4) a mandatory peer-review of GHG emission forecasting and measurement. (Yes or No) Calculated as follows: 0 if all No 25 if 1 Yes 50 if 2 Yes 75 if 3 Yes 100 if 4 Yes (Various sources)
     
CARBON PRICE COVERAGE & STRINGENCY Stringency of domestic carbon price as a weighted average by coverage Product of: (Emissions covered/total emissions) and the (Maximum annual compliance price). For countries with multiple sub-national prices, the following formula was used: Σ (all regions, sectors with price) [maximum price * (Emissions covered/total emissions)] (Various sources)