Closing Alberta’s Coal Plants – A Boon for Canada’s Climate and Alberta’s Air Quality

This policy brief by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) argues that closing 18 generators across six coal-fired power plants in Alberta would significantly reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health outcomes for Albertans by reducing air pollution.

• Closing Alberta's six coal-fired power plants could reduce total greenhouse gas emissions for all of Canada by more than 6%. Alberta is currently the most carbon intensive province in Canada, accounting for 37% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, with its six coal plants contributing 17% of that provincial total.
• In 2011, Alberta's six coal plants were responsible for 6% of industrial fine particulate matter, 10% of nitrogen oxides, and one-third of sulphur dioxide emitted into the province's air.
• Using the Illness Cost of Air Pollution (ICAP) model, CAPE and partners estimated that air pollution from Alberta's coal plants causes approximately 100 premature deaths, 80 hospital admissions, 700 emergency department visits, and 4,800 asthma symptom days annually. These health impacts are valued at roughly $300 million per year, or $3 billion over a 10-year period.
• Ontario's phase-out of coal-fired power plants between 2004 and 2014 removed 42,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxides and 147,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide from its airshed. In the City of Toronto, between 2000 and 2010, annual levels of fine particulate matter fell by 30%, nitrogen dioxide by 36%, and sulphur dioxide by 79%. These improvements are linked to a 23% reduction in air pollution-related premature deaths (from 1,700 to 1,300 per year) and a 41% reduction in hospital admissions (from 6,000 to 3,550 per year) in Toronto.

APA

Perrotta, K., & Vipond, J. (2015). Closing Alberta’s Coal Plants – A Boon for Canada’s Climate and Alberta’s Air Quality. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. https://cape.ca/closure-of-albertas-coal-plants-a-boon-for-canadas-climate-albertas-air-health/

Chicago

Perrotta, Kim, and Joe Vipond. Closing Alberta’s Coal Plants – A Boon for Canada’s Climate and Alberta’s Air Quality. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2015. https://cape.ca/closure-of-albertas-coal-plants-a-boon-for-canadas-climate-albertas-air-health/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Perrotta |first1=Kim |last2=Vipond |first2=Joe |title=Closing Alberta’s Coal Plants – A Boon for Canada’s Climate and Alberta’s Air Quality |publisher=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |date=2 November 2015 |url=https://cape.ca/closure-of-albertas-coal-plants-a-boon-for-canadas-climate-albertas-air-health/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{perrotta2015closing, author = {Perrotta, Kim and Vipond, Joe}, title = {{Closing Alberta’s Coal Plants – A Boon for Canada’s Climate and Alberta’s Air Quality}}, institution = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://cape.ca/closure-of-albertas-coal-plants-a-boon-for-canadas-climate-albertas-air-health/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }