Ecological spending has thus exploded worldwide. Investments in climate-friendly technologies have increased twelvefold in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries since 2005.

China is ahead of the parade. The country spends around 1.5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on green investments every year. In comparison, Europe, which is considered a leader in this area, spends around 1% of its GDP on it. As a result, China dominates sectors such as solar panel and battery manufacturing and provides 40% of nuclear reactors under construction worldwide.

In Canada, spending as a percentage of GDP fell sharply in 2014 and has lagged other countries ever since. According to economist Colin Guldimann, however, this gap can still be closed.

He takes the example of the United States, which recently passed legislation those to reduce inflationpledged to provide $370 billion for clean investment and to mobilize even more money from the private sector.

There is no doubt that unless Canada decides to pick up the pace, the gap between our country and our neighbor to the south will also widen.

Colin Guldimann believes a good place to start is to encourage spending on carbon capture plants, which has had limited funding in Canada to date. He also encourages increasing spending on electric vehicles from $4 billion to $22 billion.

As for green power, he reckons Canada will need to invest $200 billion by 2035, then even more to meet higher demand and hit targets.

Now that the numbers are set, it remains to be seen whether politicians will decide to take them into account and follow them.