Coal Association of Canada “disappointed” with federal coal phase-out announcement

Robin Campbell, President of the Coal Association of Canada. — Photo: Coal Association of Canada

“We feel that investment in the coal industry will do much more to reduce global emissions than to turn our backs on a form of power generation that supplies 40% of the world’s electricity,” said Robin Campbell, President of the Coal Association of Canada (CAC).

The Coal Association of Canada (CAC) is disappointed in the Government of Canada’s announcement to accelerate the phase out all traditional coal-fired generation by 2030. The coal mining industry in Canada supports the reduction of emissions and increases in efficiencies and would prefer to see investment in cleaner coal technologies rather than an accelerated phase-out that will result in job losses across the country and increase the cost of electricity for impacted Canadians.

The CAC is pleased, however, to see that the Federal Government has not included units that are employing carbon capture and storage in the phase-out. Along with endorsement at COP21 in Paris last year, the International Energy Agency has repeatedly identified CCS as critical to meeting global climate change targets. Saskatchewan’s Boundary Dam project Canada is a great example of how far CCS technology has come and the potential to utilize it around the world.

Campbell believes that, "Coal-fired generation will be a significant portion of the global energy mix for decades to come, and Canada has a chance to invest in technologies that could be used around the world to reduce emissions in developing countries."