Canada has a woeful environmental record, according to a scorecard produced by a not-for-profit group.

The Conference Board of Canada rates its home country 15th out of 17 developed countries*, with only the United States and Australia performing worse over a range of indicators.

“We are among the world leaders in managing our forests, our air quality is good overall, and we have made progress on using energy efficiently,” say the board’s Len Coad (press release, Reuters story). “But we generate far too much waste, we still use water as though we have an unlimited supply, and our past record on greenhouse gas emissions is terrible.”

Canada generates more waste per capita than all other developed countries and using more water than anywhere apart from the United States, says the board’s report, which awards an overall C grade to the country.

Other Canadian news

“Canada’s biggest companies are making climate change a higher priority, partly through more widespread disclosure of greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a new report,” says The Canadian Press.

“For the fourth year in a row, Quebec has lowered its total greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the amount of polluting gases that contribute to climate change even as the province’s economy and population have grown,” says the Montreal Gazette.

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