canada plans to completely phase out traditional coal power by 2030 and will work with the country<u+2019>s four remaining provinces that still burn the fossil fuel to reach the overall goal, environment minister catherine mckenna said monday. the move is the latest measure canada is taking to meet greenhouse-gas reduction targets by 2030, and follows the introduction of a nationwide carbon levy that starts in 2018. the new plan also comes amid a pledge by president-elect donald trump to revive the u.s. coal industry<u+2019>s fortunes. ms. mckenna, just back from a united nations-sponsored climate-change conference in morocco, said coal power in canada currently represents close to 10% of greenhouse-gas emissions coming from four provinces<u+2014>alberta, saskatchewan, nova scotia and new brunswick. provinces will have the option to choose between phasing out coal entirely and replacing it with lower-emitting resources, or using carbon capture and storage technology, the minister said. data indicate the western province of alberta is by far the biggest user of coal as a source of electricity generation, and is home to five of the six biggest coal-fueled power plants in canada. the province<u+2019>s left-leaning government has signaled its intent to phase out coal-fired generation, also by 2030. canada<u+2019>s largest province, ontario, phased out coal-fired electricity in 2014. in canada, provincial governments have jurisdiction over the generation and transmission of electricity. brad wall, premier of the resource-rich province of saskatchewan, said his government would review the economic and environmental implications from ottawa<u+2019>s announcement. coal accounts for half the electricity generation in the province. mr. wall has been the most vocal opponent of the canadian government<u+2019>s carbon-price scheme. he said ottawa<u+2019>s move monday to unilaterally phase out coal generation exposes a <u+201c>disingenuous commitment<u+201d> to work with the country<u+2019>s regions -- especially those that rely on commodities to drive growth -- on a national climate-change strategy. canada is the world<u+2019>s 12th-largest coal producer, according to government data, and roughly three-quarters of the coal it imports originates in the u.s. ms. mckenna said 80% of canada<u+2019>s electricity comes from non-carbon emitting sources, and the goal is to increase that to 90% by 2030 by amending existing regulations to phase out coal. the minister said the move is consistent with other countries such as france, the u.k., netherlands, denmark and austria, which have accelerated their plans to phase out coal. canada<u+2019>s liberal government has pledged to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 30% from 2005 levels before 2030. ms. mckenna said last week that the government would introduce further measures, on top of the carbon-pricing plan, aimed at tackling climate change before prime minister justin trudeau meets with provincial premiers in early december. mr. trudeau has made efforts to tackle climate change a signature issue of his government. mr. trump has signaled support for the u.s. coal industry, promising to roll back a number of energy and environmental regulations and put coal miners back to work. still, he is expected to face stiff headwinds in reviving an industry facing tough competition from natural gas and world-wide market trends such as slowing growth in asia. ms. mckenna said the latest actions will reduce canada<u+2019>s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 5 megatons by 2030, or the equivalent of taking 1.3 million cars off the road. write to paul vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com and judy mckinnon at judy.mckinnon@wsj.com
canada aims to fully phase out coal power by 2030 - wsj
paul vieira judy mckinnon