There’s a reason thermal coal is known as the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel: Burning it for energy generates half of the world’s carbon emissions, accelerates the climate crisis, wreaks havoc on the environment, and causes 800,000 premature deaths every year.
In fact, thermal coal is so harmful that the federal government has pledged to phase out domestic use by 2030 and — thanks to pressure from Ecojustice, our partners, and our community of supporters —recently announced a policy that effectively bans new mining projects in Canada. However, existing mines continue to operate, and Canadian and American mining companies export millions of tonnes of coal through Canadian ports annually.
If Canada wants to become a true global climate leader, we must account for our exported emissions — including those from exported thermal coal. Emissions from coal burned overseas hurt our shared climate. Once in the atmosphere, carbon emissions do not respect borders.
Ecojustice has worked tirelessly for years against thermal coal mines expansions. Now we are calling on the federal government to ban thermal coal mining and exporting from Canada once and for all.
