Editor: Bow Valley Clean Air Society has been working for years to improve and protect the air quality for our communities.
Lately, we have broadened our focus to include reduction of regional contributions to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). However, as we all know, climate change is not just a regional issue – it is global in its sources and in its impacts.
Therefore, BVCAS asked the 2015 Alberta Climate Change Panel to urge the province to adopt a target of eliminating coal-fired power by the year 2030. The elimination of coal power is the single largest practical step that our province can take to reduce GHG and improve air quality in parts of Alberta that are downwind from these plants.
We are pleased that the Notley government included this target of eliminating coal-fired power generation by 2030 in the Climate Leadership Plan announced in November.
As the province moves towards this goal of eliminating coal power, it will face some strong opposition, as it is already facing from the Coal Association of Canada. We urge our government to continue to resist this opposition to one of the most important elements of its climate change policy and we urge all Albertans to support its efforts in this regard.
Alberta burns nearly twice as much coal as all of the other provinces combined. In 2014, Alberta generated 68 per cent of its electricity from coal, accounting for almost as much greenhouse gas emissions as all of its oilsands operations.
Data for 2011 indicated that one-third of sulphur dioxide emissions, six per cent of fine particulate matter and 44 per cent of mercury from man-made sources originated with these power plants.
Phasing out coal-fired power will come with a cost, of course, but Alberta can replace coal power with natural gas, supplemented with wind and solar power. The ability of natural gas-fired generation to quickly and economically ramp up production makes it a natural fit with intermittent power sources such as wind and solar.
For every unit of coal-fired power replaced by renewable energy we would see a 100 per cent reduction in GHG emissions and, by most estimates, every unit of natural gas fired generation would reduce GHG emissions by about 50 per cent relative to coal.
Also, this combination of renewables and natural gas would have a fraction of the emissions of coal for pollutants of immediate concern to human health.
BVCAS strongly supports our government in the change from coal to cleaner natural gas, supplemented with wind and solar power. We are also very encouraged by the fact that Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen and Canmore Mayor John Borrowman have been strong supporters of the Alberta Climate Change Plan.
The battle over this important initiative will intensify over the next few years, and we urge all Bow Valley residents to do whatever they can to add their voices in support of progressive and pragmatic change.
Rick Daniel,
Bow Valley Clean Air Society
