From 2021 to 2022, Canada's coal exports jumped 60%, according to the NDP, as reported by the Global News, while coal exports have risen by more than eight times since 2018.
In 2018, thermal coal exports from Canada reached one million tonnes, continuing to gain significant momentum, reaching 5.5 million tonnes in 2021 and 8.23 million tonnes in 2022.
NDP's Laurel Collins, a long-term environmental critic, has called Canada's failure to address exports of the dirtiest fossil fuel as "shocking". "It's really disheartening given the impact of coal on the climate crisis," local media quoted her as saying on Wednesday.
The bill also examines where all the coal Canada is exporting comes from, noting that exports of coal through Canada are a major factor behind the rising numbers. Exports of non-Canadian coal through Canada were approximately 14 million tonnes in 2018, dropping down to 10 million tonnes in 2022
The coal-reducing plan currently being followed by Canada's Liberal government calls for the phase-out of the country's coal-fired power plants by 2030 for any plants that fail to adopt new greenhouse-gas-trapping technology.
Despite the NDP criticism, Canada has seen a significant drop in coal usage, with four remaining provinces relying on coal for electricity generation and one of those, Alberta, scheduled to decommission its last coal plant in 2024.
According to Global News, Canadian coal exports are in response to international demand, which has risen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
Michael Kern is a newswriter and editor at Safehaven.com and Oilprice.com, More
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