B.C.B次元官网网址檚 mining sector is not concerned after Canada joined six other western countries in the phase-out of B次元官网网址渆xisting unabated coal power generationB次元官网网址� by 2035.

Michael Goehring, president and chief executive officer of the Mining Association of British Columbia, said the agreement impacts thermal coal B次元官网网址� coal used in electricity generation.

B次元官网网址淏.C. only produces steelmaking coal (or metallurgical coal) that is currently necessary for the production of steel,B次元官网网址� Goehring said. B次元官网网址淭he G-7 decision does not have an impact on steelmaking coal, which is currently listed as a B次元官网网址榗ritical materialB次元官网网址� in the European Union.B次元官网网址�

British Columbia is CanadaB次元官网网址檚 largest producer of coal, accounting for 59 per cent of all Canadian coal exports as of 2022/ It is also CanadaB次元官网网址檚 largest exporter of steelmaking coal, and coal consistently fetches the highest returns relative to other mined exports. In 2022, for example, coal accounted for 67 per cent of all B.C.B次元官网网址檚 mineral production valued at $18.2 billion with copper (17.8 per cent) a distant second.

B.C., however, has had a history of thermal coal production, and thermal coal produced in other provinces ships to global markets through B.C. with most shipments going to Asia.

Steelmaking coal production is expected to range between 24 million to 26 million tonnes, up from 23.7 million tonnes in 2023, according to a guide issued by Teck Resources January. Production is expected to remain at these levels throughout 2025 to 2027, the company noted. Canada, led by B.C., accounted for 2.4 per cent of global steemaking coal production in 2022.

Environmentalists point to thermal coalB次元官网网址檚 contribution to climate change. The emergence of cheaper alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power has raised questions about the economics of thermal coal, and several leading energy companies are getting out of the thermal coal business.

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B.C. does not burn thermal coal for power, but four Canadian provinces do. Coal contributed to 51 per cent of energy produced in Alberta and 30 per cent in Saskatchewan in 2021, followed by Nova Scotia (15 per cent) and New Brunswick (four per cent).

B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Energy Minister Josie Osborne said the announcement from the G-7 is in line with CanadaB次元官网网址檚 earlier promises to phase out thermal coal by 2030.

B次元官网网址淪o IB次元官网网址檓 encouraged to see the decision from the G-7 and I think itB次元官网网址檚 a positive signal that industrialized countries are sending to the rest of the world about decreasing about our dependence on thermal coal. ItB次元官网网址檚 heavily polluting and we have alternatives,B次元官网网址� Osborne said.

Osborne pointed to the ongoing use of thermal coal by countries like China and India. These two accounted for almost 61 per cent of total global production

Meanwhile, several western countries are testing technologies to replace steelmaking coal with hydrogen in the production of so-called green steel.

Osborne said that technology is still under development and steelmaking coal remains in high demand.

B次元官网网址�(Steelmaking coal from B.C.) is still going to be an important commodity for years to come.B次元官网网址�

The G-7 consists of Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.