OTTAWA — Canada has placed sixth among G8 nations in a federally-appointed think tank's new report on opportunities to prosper from efforts to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.

The ranking comes in the new low-carbon performance index produced by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, which assesses five key categories and 15 indicators.

The categories are emissions and energy, innovation, investment, skills, and policy and institutions.

"Canada's overall ranking is principally a function of an economy that is based on high-carbon energy emissions and of the weak performance in the policy and institutions category," the report says.

It adds: "While clearly not a leading low-carbon performer, the LCPI does show Canada positioned to do better relative to some of its main competitors, particularly the United States, if actions are taken to reduce our energy emissions profile and institute low-carbon growth plans and policies."

But while Canada placed sixth overall, the country ranked first in skills and third in innovation under the performance index.

France, Germany and Britain placed highest overall, followed by Japan and the United States; Canada finished ahead of Italy and Russia. However, only a few points separated Canada from Japan and the U.S.

The round table's index measures, among other things, a country's level of clean-technology investment, low-carbon financial stimulus and national carbon-pricing measures.

Essentially, it measures how a country's economy functions at low levels of greenhouse-gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product.

"Carbon is the new currency in the global economy," said David McLaughlin, president and CEO of the advisory panel.

"And in a low-carbon world, the environment is the economy. So you've got to actually look at things differently.

"So there's going to be a transition. The transition is starting. We're seeing the kinds of investments that are happening. We're seeing that there's a shift that's going on. The round table is very bullish on the need for Canada to win and for Canada to succeed."

This is the first time the round table has produced the low-carbon index. It's part of a series of reports on the economic risks and opportunities for Canada of climate change.

Discussion of climate change and the environment has been pushed to the margins of next month's G8 and G20 summits in Huntsville, Ont., and Toronto.

The Conservative government has made it clear the summits will focus on the continuing global economic recovery. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said this week that other issues are "sideshows."

Environment Minister Jim Prentice was not immediately available to comment on the report.