Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is taking federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to task for travelling to China to meet with Communist Party officials while promoting divisive climate policies back home..On Monday, Smith posted on X (formerly Twitter) urging Canadians to “remind” Guilbeault that replacing just 20% of China’s coal with natural gas would displace the equivalent of all of Canada’s emissions..”Why is Canada not using every tool in the toolbox to reduce emissions and pollution worldwide? I would encourage every Canadian to reach out to Minister Steven Guilbeault before his trip to China and remind him he has an incredible opportunity to reduce global emissions by exporting cleaner Canadian LNG to countries (like China) that rely heavily on coal,” she wrote.. Coal exportsCanadian coal imports/exports 2021. .“As a bonus this will also expand Canada’s economy and provide more opportunities to grow our middle class.”.Smith’s tweet is based on a report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in April that suggested Canada could offset virtually of its annual emissions by exporting LNG to Asia under Article 6 of the Paris Accord, which Guilbeault has downplayed even as he tightened the screws on regions such as Alberta, that already use natural gas to generate electricity.. Canadian coal exports 2021Canada’s coal exports 2005-21 keep rising. .In previous posts Smith has called the new regulations “unrealistic,” “unaffordable”and unconstitutional.” That in turn has sparked an uninterrupted — and some would say unremitting — back-and-forth between the two..On Saturday, the Canadian Energy Centre tweeted a broadside of its own, pointing out China has approved more than 50 gigawatts of coal fired power — almost as much as all of Canada — in the past year. .It comes as Guilbeault prepares to head off to Beijing this weekend to meet with Chinese officials ostensibly to talk about climate change. There, he’ll be meeting with Ding Xuexiang, former chief of staff to China’s president, Xi Jingping, who also administers repressive government policies in Hong Kong..Guilbeault didn’t respond to Smith’s rhetorical volley directly, other than to repost a tweet from former environment minister Catherine McKenna essentially blaming the Conservative Party of being responsible for wildfires ripping across BC, the NWT and Yukon — calling them (and presumably Smith) “arsonists.”.“Poilievre’s climate plan in a nutshell,” Guilbeault wrote..The fact that he referenced McKenna, who was responsible for imposing Ottawa’s carbon tax on Alberta in 2019 after it was repealed, spoke volumes about where his sensibilities lie..Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson also weighed in: “As fires burn and Canadians are displaced across the country, Pierre Poilievre is touring the country saying we don't need real climate action. This isn't the leadership that Canadians want. It’s shameful.”.Apart from hyperbolic hash-tagging, some would argue what’s shameful is coddling a Chinese government accused of genocide by countries around the globe, including Canada, which is investigating interference in elections. .That’s notwithstanding that it also consumes half the world’s coal to generate two thirds of its power. Or that it has until 2060 to reach net-zero emissions under the Paris Accord..Or that Canada exports 75% of its coal to Asia, including 46% to China, according to NRCan’s own numbers. Or that the Port of Vancouver is the largest coal exporting hub in North America and handles more than double the amount of coal produced in all of Mexico in a year..In fact, most of the coal exported to China was in the form of briquettes — or charcoal from wood — worth $2.24 billion..Guilbeault’s visit will come less than two weeks after the federal government introduced its own net-zero targets to force regions such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to reach net-zero 15 years sooner, by 2035.
