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With so much attention on the prospect of exporting oil to China, you may not realize that Canadian cleantech companies are exporting solutions that support Chinese efforts to minimize their oil consumption and improve air quality. Toronto-based Hydrogenics, for example, produces fuel cells that convert hydrogen into clean electricity. Growing Chinese demand has been a boon for them.

And by no means is this transition confined to China. Britain, France, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Scotland — and yes, China — have all announced they will eventually prohibit the sale of gas- and diesel-fuelled vehicles, sending shockwaves through auto and oil sectors.

While there are just three-million electric cars on the road today, BP’s most recent Energy Outlook forecasts there will be 300 million by 2040. So perhaps it isn’t surprising that the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas companies are initiating an evolution of their own. As the CEO of Shell (yes, Shell) put it, “Societal acceptance of the energy system as we have it is just disappearing.” His next car, he said, will be electric, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Shell announced last year that it will be investing up to $2 billion annually in clean energy by 2020 — while also divesting all of its Canadian oilsands assets.

And they aren’t alone.

Statoil has made big investments in offshore wind power, drawing on its experience with offshore oil drilling; the company plans to invest roughly C$16 billion in renewables by 2030. Total, a top player in solar and battery power, has similar ambitions, aiming for low-carbon business to account for 20 per cent of its portfolio by 2035. And BP is once again investing heavily in solar, wind and biofuels.