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For Canada, the drop in the 'air pollution' risk factor was negative 17.5% and appears to be one of the biggest drops of any country. Global Burden of Disease project

As one would expect, the review says a lot about GHGs and climate change, and lays out reputed accomplishments and future plans. The review also lectures us, telling us to use less: “The best energy is the energy we do not use. By doing more with less, Canadians can significantly reduce GHG emissions, save money, improve their environment and make their homes more comfortable.”

Most of us heard similar lectures by the former Ontario Liberal government (Premier Wynne once chided Ontarians for being “bad actors” when it came to electricity use) and we did consume less. However, we failed to see any savings. In fact, Ontarians paid more for less.

On the issue of GHG emissions the data available is extensive and varying. Canadians are generally told they contribute 1.6 per cent of global emissions, which appears to be in the ballpark of most published estimates.

One measure where Canada seems to stand out favourably is in the measurement of “Emissions (kilogram) per $1,000 (US$) of GDP” despite our dependence on agriculture, energy, forestry and mining which collectively represent over 50 per cent of our exports. Canada’s emissions were 301.0 kg/US$1,000 of GDP versus the world average of 490.8 kilograms. The U.S. is 324.2 kilograms per thousand dollars, and China is 1,235.0 kilograms. France stands out as the lowest at 110.5 kilograms and Uzbekistan is the highest at 1,960.9 kilograms.

Taking all this into account, and with the knowledge that Canada is leading the world in reducing air pollution while actually being a low emitter of GHGs in respect to our GDP, and despite our dependence on extraction of natural resources including oil and gas, the question is this — why is the government of Canada demanding a carbon tax from us and penalizing us domestically with useless intermittent renewable energy and massive conservation spending? Being responsible for only 1.6 per cent of global emissions, Canada cannot save the world. It’s time to let the rest of the world and their 98.4 per cent of emissions catch up.

• Parker Gallant is a retired bank executive who looked at his electricity bill and didn’t like what he saw. This is excerpted and adapted from a longer article published Monday on his “Energy Perspectives” blog.