Closure of Alberta's Coal Plants: A Boon for Canada's Climate, Alberta's Air, Health

The document advocates for the closure of Alberta's coal-fired power plants to meet national climate goals and reduce severe health impacts. It highlights that Alberta is Canada's most carbon-intensive province and that coal plants contribute significantly to air pollutants linked to premature deaths and hospitalizations. Using the Ontario coal phase-out as a successful precedent, the brief argues that similar action in Alberta would lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the economic and human cost of air pollution.

• Closing 18 generators across six coal-fired power plants in Alberta could reduce Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions by more than 6%. Alberta currently accounts for 37% of all greenhouse gases emitted in Canada, with its coal plants contributing 17% of those emissions.
• Air pollution from Alberta's coal-fired power plants is estimated to cause approximately 100 premature deaths, 700 emergency department visits, 80 hospital admissions, and 4,800 asthma symptom days annually. The Illness Cost of Air Pollution (ICAP) model values these health impacts at roughly $300 million per year, or $3 billion over a decade.
• The phase-out of coal-fired power plants in Ontario between 2004 and 2014 led to measurable air quality improvements. In the City of Toronto between 2000 and 2010, annual levels of sulphur dioxide fell by 79%, nitrogen dioxide by 36%, and fine particulate matter by 30%, resulting in 400 fewer premature deaths and 2,450 fewer hospital admissions per year.

APA

Perrotta, K., & Vipond, J. (2015). Closure of Alberta's Coal Plants: A Boon for Canada's Climate, Alberta's Air, Health. 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. Closure of Alberta's Coal Plants: A Boon for Canada's Climate, Alberta's Air, Health. 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=Closure of Alberta's Coal Plants: A Boon for Canada's Climate, Alberta's Air, Health |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{perrotta2015closure, author = {Perrotta, Kim and Vipond, Joe}, title = {{Closure of Alberta's Coal Plants: A Boon for Canada's Climate, Alberta's Air, Health}}, 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} }