Meeting our climate obligations

Coal is one of the most carbon intensive fuels we can use to produce electricity. By replacing the power coming from Ontario's four remaining coal plants with power from low or zero greenhouse gas sources like natural gas fired combined heat and power or wind power, we can go a long way toward meeting our Kyoto Protocol obligations. This single step could provide us with 50-80% of the greenhouse gas emission reductions required for the 2008-2012 Kyoto period, depending on replacement power sources. No commercial technology exists to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from coal plants; in fact, some air pollution controls may actually increase the GHG emissions from coal plants. By transforming our electricity system to focus on efficiency and renewable sources instead, we can also ensure future progress in reducing our electricity related GHG emissions even further.

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