Surprise! Canada Is A World Leader In Phasing Out Coal-Fired Electricity

On November 19, 2016, Canada filed a "Mid-Century Strategy" report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that included a new commitment to phase-out coal in electricity production by 2030. It is important to realize that this commitment is based on solid progress in putting Canada among world leaders in having coal-free electricity. In particular, as European countries begin to take stock of their efforts to clean up their electricity supply systems by phasing out coal, it is becoming clear that Canada is well ahead of them all.  In fact, Ontario is the only system in the OECD that has eliminated coal completely, which it did two years ago.

Denmark, recognized for its aggressive implementation of wind power which now accounts for about half its electricity supply, still has coal-fired generating stations in operation that supply almost a quarter of needs.  While these are combined heat and power (CHP) plants which supply district