Here's One Big Way Canada Is Working To Fight Climate Change
Canada has been in the global spotlight recently because of the controversial Kinder Morgan pipeline project that was approved by Justin Trudeau last week.
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The project, which entails the extension of the Trans Mountain pipeline through BC's Burnaby Mountain, sparked outrage among several environmental activists in Canada and around the world. Greenpeace, for example, stated that their opposition of the project stems from the fact that the pipelines would "trample First Nations rights, pollute the land, water and air, and fuel climate change."
While approval of the pipeline may seem like a backwards step in Canada's fight against climate change, the country is still working on other ways to support the climate change cause. One big way they are doing so is by working to phase out traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030.
According to Federal Environmental Minister Catherine McKenna, coal contributes up to 10% of Canada's total greenhouse emissions. Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan still use coal to produce electricity, and Canada still exports it globally (particularly to countries in Asia).
The ultimate goal is to ensure that 90% of Canada's electricity is produced from renewable resources. Little but important steps have been taken so far towards this goal - last year, Alberta committed to phasing out coal-fired electricity by 2030, and Ontario shut down its last coal-fired plant in 2014.
The one big obstacle in the federal government's way is president-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to revive the coal industry in the US and to cancel the Paris climate agreement that Canada ratified in October. Still, Canada looks to implement a minimum carbon price by 2018 and is targeting a total greenhouse gas emission reduction of 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.
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