Canada does not make the global top ten list for national consumption of renewable energy. A recent snapshot from a price comparison analyst based in the United Kingdom (UK) confirms that no country is close to reaching the European Union’s 2020 target for renewables to comprise 20 per cent of energy supply, although five EU countries — including the soon-to-depart UK — have made the most progress.

Germany, UK, Sweden and Spain all draw on renewable sources for more than 10 per cent of consumption. Italy, ranked fifth, reports an 8.8 per cent share of renewable energy consumption.

From there, prominence of renewable energy declines significantly with the ninth and 10th ranked countries — Australia and the United States — attributing less than five per cent of consumption to renewable supply. Canada is 14th among the 20 surveyed countries, ahead of South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

In contrast, Canada’s per capita energy consumption costs are among the world’s highest. An average daily expenditure of USD $448.33 million on prime energy (non-renewable sources) is the sixth highest national tally after China, United States, India, Russia and Japan, but Canada’s population is considerably lower — ranging from 78 per cent (UK) to 3,695 per cent (China) — than every other country in the top 10.

China, with a population of 1.43 billion, spends an average of USD $4.261 billion daily on prime energy. Germany’s daily prime energy expenditure of USD $421.6 million most closely matches Canada’s, but it’s across a population of 82.9 million versus 37.6 million in Canada.

Germany‘s 12.7 per cent reliance on renewable energy diverts an estimated USD $61.57 million in daily spending away from oil and gas. Renewable energy’s 4.32 per cent market share in the United States would equate to USD $135 million in daily oil and gas costs.