Canada’s pathetic, empty-headed crusade against coal – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – November 15, 2017)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Of all the empty gestures in the pathetic history of global climate policy-making, few match the air-headedness of Canada’s intent — to be officially announced Thursday at the United Nations COP23 climate conference in Bonn — to lead a global campaign to rid the world of carbon-emitting coal.

By any measure, Canada is a nobody in the coal business, ranking near the bottom of all global measures of the industry, worth less than one per cent of global production and consumption. Canada is a non-player, a zero, an insignificant speck on the great world coal market.

But that isn’t stopping Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, donning her Climate Crusader Halloween outfit, from swooshing into COP23 to take on the world. “Canada is committed to phasing out coal,” she said.

Not just in Canada. “We’ve created an alliance with the U.K., we’re going to get other countries around the world to help support moving forward on a coal phase-out. Coal is not only the most polluting fossil fuel but it’s also terrible for health.”

At last report, McKenna had recruited Italy and the Netherlands to join her anti-coal crusade. Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are just like us: tiny players in coal, but big players in the greatest climate industry of all, political posturing.

For the rest of this column: http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-canadas-pathetic-empty-headed-crusade-against-coal