Submission to Alberta’s Climate Change Advisory Panel

The submission by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and partners details the 'triple threat' posed by Alberta's coal plants: air pollution, mercury contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions. It provides health-cost estimates for Alberta and uses Ontario's coal phase-out as a successful case study for improving public health outcomes. The authors recommend a complete phase-out of coal by 2025, avoiding new natural gas investments, and transitioning to renewable energy and energy efficiency.

• Coal-fired power plants in Alberta create a 'triple threat' to human health through the emission of greenhouse gases, common air pollutants, and mercury.
• In 2011, Alberta's six coal plants were responsible for 33% of sulphur dioxide, 10% of nitrogen oxides, and 6% of fine particulate matter emissions in the province.
• Air pollution from Alberta's coal plants is estimated to cause approximately 100 premature deaths annually from long-term exposure, 780 emergency department visits and hospital admissions from short-term exposure, and 4,800 asthma symptom days.
• The health impacts of air pollution from coal plants in Alberta are valued at approximately $300 million per year, totaling $3 billion over a 10-year period.
• Alberta's coal plants emitted 44% of the province's human-activity-released mercury in 2011, a toxic substance linked to cognitive and motor skill reductions in prenatal and early life exposure.
• In 2011, Alberta's six coal plants produced about 44 megatonnes of greenhouse gases, representing approximately 18% of the province's total emissions.
• Ontario's phase-out of coal plants between 2003 and 2015 removed over 147,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 42,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxides, contributing to a 23% reduction in air pollution-related premature deaths in Toronto between 2000 and 2010.
• The authors recommend that the Alberta Government phase out coal-fired power plants by 2025 at the latest, without reinvesting in natural gas, while incentivizing renewable energy and energy efficiency.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2015). Submission to Alberta’s Climate Change Advisory Panel. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Submission-Albertas-Climate-Advisory-Panel-CAPE-Sept-2015-1.pdf#new_tab

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Submission to Alberta’s Climate Change Advisory Panel. 2015. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Submission-Albertas-Climate-Advisory-Panel-CAPE-Sept-2015-1.pdf#new_tab.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=Submission to Alberta’s Climate Change Advisory Panel |date=18 September 2015 |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Submission-Albertas-Climate-Advisory-Panel-CAPE-Sept-2015-1.pdf#new_tab |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironment2015submission, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{Submission to Alberta’s Climate Change Advisory Panel}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2015}, month = sep, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Submission-Albertas-Climate-Advisory-Panel-CAPE-Sept-2015-1.pdf#new_tab}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }