Energy

Oil Bust Drags Canadian Dollar to Historic Lows [Chart]

Published

7 years ago

January 15, 2016

Jeff Desjardins

Oil Bust Drags Canadian Dollar to Historic Lows [Chart]

“Lower for longer” means loonie could hit US$0.59 by end of 2016

The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.

The continued pressure on the oil sector is wreaking havoc on the Canadian dollar.

This morning, the Loonie continued its freefall by losing another -1.1% , bringing the current exchange-rate to US$0.69. It’s the first time the Canadian dollar has traded below US$0.70 in 13 years, but the damage could be even worse.

David Doyle, a top forecaster for Macquarie Capital Markets, lowered his projection for 2016 to have the loonie finish at US$0.59. This would eclipse the all-time low for Canadian dollar, which was set on Jan 21, 2002, at just below US$0.62.

“Lower for Longer”

In this week’s chart, we show the well-established relationship between the Canadian dollar and the price of oil. Both prices have moved in tandem since 2000, and they’ve also both nosedived since the collapse of oil prices in mid-2014.

In fact, it may not surprise you to know that there are traders out there who use the Canadian dollar as a proxy for oil prices. If they think oil is going lower, they’ll sell Canadian dollars if it offers them the right kind of market exposure.

Oil is now trading at its lowest price since 2004, and many analysts believe that the pressure on prices will continue. Pundits are talking $20 oil and even $10 oil. While it’s very possible neither of those thresholds are reached, what is known is that low oil prices mean the Canadian dollar will continue to be under duress.

However, what are the specifics of this relationship? Canada is surely an economy that has a heavier reliance on raw materials, but it is no Saudi Arabia, right?

The Relationship Between Oil and the Canadian Dollar

The key to this relationship is based on two major principles.

Firstly, while Canada is a major producer of oil, it also exports the majority of this production to the United States. In 2014, Canada produced 4.4 million barrels of oil and equivalents per day, and it exported 3.4 million of this to the United States. Billions of US dollars are changing hands between American buyers and Canadian producers.

Oil prices are mostly traded in US dollars, which means that as the price drops, there are less US dollars being paid out to Canadian producers. This means producers are exchanging fewer US dollars for the Canadian dollars they need to pay wages and production costs. This drops the amount of “demand” for Canadian dollars, which affects the price of the currency.

Lastly, because oil is denominated in US dollars, the above effect gets further amplified by any other changes to the USD/CAD relationship. For example, while Canada has been loosening its monetary policy, the United States has been trying to do the opposite. This, along with other factors, has led to strength in the US dollar.

A strong dollar means cheaper oil. Cheaper oil means lower demand for Canadian dollars.

Related Topics:currency oil USD us dollar exports canadian dollar cad

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Energy

Visualizing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector

The U.S. emits about 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases a year. Here’s how these emissions rank by sector.

Written By

Aran Ali

Published August 9, 2022 • Updated August 10, 2022 •

Visualizing U.S. Emissions by Sector

Decarbonization efforts in the U.S. are ramping up, and in 2020, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were lower than at any point during the previous 30 years.

However there’s still work to be done before various organizations, states, and nationwide targets are met. And when looking at GHG emissions by sector, the data suggests that some groups have more work cut out for them than others.

This graphic from the National Public Utilities Council provides the key data and trends on the total emissions by U.S. sector since 1990.

The Highest Emitting Sectors

Collectively, the U.S. emitted 5,981 million metric tons (MMT) of CO₂-equivalent (CO₂e) emissions in 2020, which rose 6.1% in 2021.

Here’s how the various sectors in the U.S. compare.

Sector	2020 GHG emissions, MMT CO2e	Percentage of Total
Transportation	1,627.6	27%
Electricity generation	1,482.6	25%
Industry	1,426.2	24%
Agriculture	635.1	11%
Commercial	425.3	7%
Residential	362.0	6%
U.S. territories	23.0	<1%

The transportation sector ranks highest by emissions and has been notably impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still affecting travel and supply chains. This has led to whipsawing figures during the last two years.

For instance, in 2020, the transportation sector’s emissions fell 15%, the steepest fall of any sector. But the largest increase in emissions in 2021 also came from transportation, which is largely credited to the economic and tourism recovery last year.

Following transportation, electricity generation accounted for a quarter of U.S. GHG emissions in 2020, with fossil fuel combustion making up nearly 99% of the sector’s emissions. The other 1% includes waste incineration and other power generation technologies like renewables and nuclear power, which produce emissions during the initial stages of raw material extraction and construction.

Decarbonizing the Power Sector

The Biden Administration has set a goal to make the U.S. power grid run on 100% clean energy by 2035—a key factor in achieving the country’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Industrial factories, commercial buildings, and homes all consume electricity to power their machinery and appliances. Therefore, the power sector can help reduce their carbon footprint by supplying more clean electricity, although this largely depends on the availability of infrastructure for transmission.

Here’s how sectors would look if their respective electricity end-use is taken into account

Sector	Emissions by Sector % of Total
Agriculture	11%
Transportation	27%
Industry	30%
Residential & Commercial	30%

Percentages may not add up to 100% due to independent rounding

With these adjustments, the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors experience a notable jump, and lead ahead of other categories

Today, the bulk of electricity generation, 60%, comes from natural gas and coal-fired power plants, with nuclear, renewables, and other sources making up 40% of the total.

Energy Source	2020 Electric generation, billion kWh	Share of total
Natural Gas	1,575	38.3%
Coal	899	21.8%
Nuclear	778	18.9%
Wind	380	9.2%
Hydropower	260	6.3%

However, progress and notable strides have been made towards sustainable energy. In 2021, renewables accounted for one-fifth of U.S. electricity generation, roughly doubling their share since 2010.

Coal’s share as a source of electric power has dropped dramatically in recent years. And partially as a result, electricity generation has seen its portion of emissions successfully decrease by 21% , with overall emissions falling from 1,880 million metric tons of CO₂ to 1,482 million metric tons.

How Utilities Can Lead the Way

Should these trends persist, the electricity generation sector has a chance to play a pivotal role in the broader decarbonization initiative. And with the bulk of electricity generation in the U.S. coming from investor-owned utilities (IOUs), this is a unique opportunity for IOUs to lead the transition toward cleaner energy.

The National Public Utilities Council is the go-to resource to learn how utilities can lead in the path towards decarbonization.

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Visualizing 10 Years of Global EV Sales by Country

Global EV sales have grown exponentially, more than doubling in 2021 to 6.8 million units. Here’s a look at EV sales by country since 2011.

Published

3 days ago

August 8, 2022

Govind Bhutada

Visualizing 10 Years of Global EV Sales by Country

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.

In 2011, around 55,000 electric vehicles (EVs) were sold around the world. 10 years later in 2021, that figure had grown close to 7 million vehicles.

With many countries getting plugged into electrification, the global EV market has seen exponential growth over the last decade. Using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), this infographic shows the explosion in global EV sales since 2011, highlighting the countries that have grown into the biggest EV markets.

The Early EV Days

From 2011 to 2015, global EV sales grew at an average annual rate of 89%, with roughly one-third of global sales occurring in the U.S. alone.

Year	Total EV Sales	CAGR
2011	55,414	-
2012	132,013	138.2%
2013	220,343	66.9%
2014	361,157	63.9%
2015	679,235	88.0%
Total sales / Avg growth	1,448,162	89.3%

In 2014, the U.S. was the largest EV market followed by China, the Netherlands, Norway, and France. But things changed in 2015, when China’s EV sales grew by 238% relative to 2014, propelling it to the top spot.

China’s growth had been years in the making, with the government offering generous subsidies for electrified cars, in addition to incentives and policies that encouraged production. In 2016, Chinese consumers bought more EVs than the rest of the world combined—and the country hasn’t looked back, accounting for over half of global sales in 2021.

EV Sales by Country in 2021

After remaining fairly flat in 2019, global EV sales grew by 38% in 2020, and then more than doubled in 2021. China was the driver of the growth—the country sold more EVs in 2021 than the rest of the world combined in 2020.

Country	2021 EV Sales	% of Total
China 🇨🇳	3,519,054	51.7%
U.S. 🇺🇸	631,152	9.3%
Germany 🇩🇪	695,657	10.2%
France 🇫🇷	322,043	4.7%
UK 🇬🇧	326,990	4.8%
Norway 🇳🇴	153,699	2.3%
Italy 🇮🇹	141,615	2.1%
Sweden 🇸🇪	138,771	2.0%
South Korea 🇰🇷	119,402	1.8%
Netherlands 🇳🇱	97,282	1.4%
Rest of Europe 🇪🇺	469,930	6.9%
Rest of the World 🌍	313,129	4.6%
Total	6,809,322	100.0%

China has nearly 300 EV models available for purchase, more than any other country, and it’s also home to four of the world’s 10 largest battery manufacturers. Moreover, the median price of electric cars in China is just 10% more than conventional cars, compared to 45-50% on average in other major markets.

Germany, Europe’s biggest auto market, sold nearly 700,000 EVs in 2021, up 72% from 2020. The country hosts some of the biggest EV factories in Europe, with Tesla, Volkswagen, and Chinese battery giant CATL either planning or operating ‘gigafactories’ there. Overall, sales in Europe increased by 65% in 2021, as evidenced by the seven European countries in the above list.

The U.S. also made a comeback after a two-year drop, with EV sales more than doubling in 2021. The growth was supported by a 24% increase in EV model availability, and also by an increase in production of Tesla models, which accounted for half of U.S. EV sales.

Tesla’s Dominance in the U.S.

Tesla is the world’s most renowned electric car company and its dominance in the U.S. is unmatched.

Between 2011 and 2019, Tesla accounted for 40% of all EVs sold in the United States. Furthermore, Tesla cars have been the top-selling EV models in the U.S. in every year since 2015.

EV Model	2021 Sales	% of 2021 U.S. EV Sales
Tesla Model Y*	185,994	29.5%
Tesla Model 3*	147,460	23.4%
Ford Mustang Mach-E	27,140	4.3%
Chevy Bolt EV/EUV	24,828	3.9%
Volkswagen ID.4	16,742	2.7%
Tesla Model S*	15,545	2.5%
Nissan Leaf	14,239	2.3%
Porsche Taycan	9,419	1.5%
Tesla Model X*	7,985	1.3%
Audi e-tron	7,429	1.2%

*Estimates
Share of total sales calculated using total U.S. EV sales of 631,152 units, based on data from the IEA.
Source: Cleantechnica

Tesla accounted for over 50% of EV sales in the U.S. in 2021 with the Model Y—launched in 2019—taking the top spot. Furthermore, the Model Y remained the bestselling EV in the first quarter of 2022, with Tesla taking up a massive 75% of the EV market share.

Despite Tesla’s popularity, it could face a challenge as other automakers roll out new models and expand EV production. For example, General Motors aims to make 20 EV models available by 2025, and Ford expects to produce at least 2 million EVs annually by 2026. This increase in competition from incumbents and new entrants could eat away at Tesla’s market share in the coming years.