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Ottawa abandons thermal coal export ban as Alberta mines keep producing (www.nationalobserver.com)
submitted 1 week ago by to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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Non-paywall link: [ https://unwall.app/www.nationalobserver.com/2026/10/30/news/ottawa-abandons-thermal-coal-export-ban-alberta-mines-keep-producing ]

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[–] 4 points 6 days ago (5 children)

"Those guys over there still need their coal." - That is exactly the kind of thinking, framing it as a "need", that keeps worsening the problem decades after decade. A transition was never meant to be a joke. Supplying thermal coal creates and promotes a dependency. A gradual transition, decreasing supply of thermal coal to replace it with a sustainable source, is the way out of that dependency. That is what they "need" help with.

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  • [–] -1 points 6 days ago (4 children)

    No argument there from me.

    I'm not saying we should keep them dependent and let our shitty multinational corporations continue making bank selling them coal forever. I'm all for nationalizing it and using the profits to transition to a better solution.

    I'm just saying that they won't stop using the only means of electricity generation they've already invested into just because we tell them it's bad for the environment. Especially since we're still burning coal for electricity in Saskatchewan.

    I thought we had stopped but someone corrected my stupid assumption.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

    "they won’t stop using the only means of electricity generation they’ve already invested" - That is not a Canadian problem. Canada either helps with combustion or doesn't.

    "just because we tell them it’s bad for the environment" - India doesn't need Canada to explain the effects.

    "we’re still burning coal for electricity in Saskatchewan" - That is a Canadian problem.

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  • [–] -2 points 6 days ago (2 children)

    Yeah.

    They need coal. We got coal. They either buy slavery-free Canadian coal or they look elsewhere. Refusing to sell coal changes nothing.

    India doesn't need our elitist, entitled, supremacist lectures. They need coal.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 child)

    India is willing to buy energy so instead of giving them elitist, entitled, supremacist lectures and coal, you could be building and selling them renewables. Your goal here is to profit off fossil combustion and that is the reason you are choosing coal customers that happen to be in India. I seek to minimize emissions while you try to increase emissions, that is how we differ.

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  • [–] -1 points 6 days ago

    India: hey, I need coal to generate electricity.

    PotatoMuncher: Hey. Lemme teach all about potato-batteries. We got all the potatoes you need.

    India: I got potatoes. I need coal for my power plants as well as foundries.

    PotatoMuncher: We've got world's best aluminum and steel. Produced with renewable energy.

    India: I don't want to rely on you. I got power plants and furnaces. I want to produce my own. Sell coal.

    PotatoMuncher: I seek to minimize emissions. I know what's best for everyone else. No coal for you.

    India: Were you dropped on your head? Or just an ignoramus elitist with a colonial worldview?

    PotatoMuncher: I got all organic, gmo free, pesticides free, fair market, 100% Canadian potatoes.

                               Boil em. Mash em. Stick em in a stew...

    India: Stick em where the poutine don't shine.

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