List and regulate thermal coal
Petitioners ask Canada to list thermal coal under CEPA and regulate its mining, use, import and export. The government responds that 'thermal coal' cannot be listed, but CEPA assessments may be requested.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would give federal authority to list and regulate thermal coal, enabling targeted controls on mining, trade and use to reduce emissions.
- It would strengthen Canada’s alignment with the Paris Agreement and accelerate a shift away from coal, addressing the petitioners' climate aims.
- It would enable measures to reduce health and environmental harms from burning thermal coal by limiting pollution and related risks.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- CEPA no longer uses a priority-list mechanism and officials say 'thermal coal' isn’t a single substance, so listing may be legally infeasible.
- Canada already has regulations and phaseout measures for coal-fired electricity, so the petition could duplicate existing policies.
- Broad regulation of mining, imports and exports would create economic and jurisdictional trade-offs with provinces, industry and international partners.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
PETITION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA Whereas: Thermal coal, the kind burned to make electricity, is the world's dirtiest fossil fuel; Thermal coal creates half of the world's carbon emissions and the pollution it creates kills more than 800,000 people every year; The government has a plan to phase out thermal coal exports, but it is outdated and insufficient; The world needs to move rapidly away from thermal coal to have any chance of limiting global warming to the Paris target of 1.5 degrees Celsius; The physical effects of climate change pose serious risks for Canadians, Canada's wildlife and the Canadian economy including permafrost melt, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, floods, sea level rise, increased vector-borne diseases, disruptions to supply chains, destruction of infrastructure and damage to key industries including agriculture and forestry; and Canada's greenhouse gas emissions have increased since the Paris Agreement was signed, making it the worst performing of all G7 nations since the 2015 Conference of the Parties in Paris, France. We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Add thermal coal to the Priority Substances List of the Canadian Environment Protection Act (CEPA), and, as soon thereafter as possible, to the Toxic Substances List of CEPA; and 2. Regulate the mining, use, export, and import of thermal coal in Canada in accordance with our international commitments to reduce carbon emissions at home and abroad.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA or the Act) was modernized in June 2023, requiring the Ministers of Environment and Health to consult on and publish a multi-year Plan of Priorities for substance assessment and management, reviewed every 8 years. While thermal coal is currently not on the Plan of Priorities, as of June 2023, under subsection 76(1) of CEPA, any person may request that the Ministers assess a substance to determine if it meets the criteria of section 64 of CEPA. The Ministers may either grant the request and add the substance to the Plan of Priorities or deny the request. For information on how to submit a request to assess a substance under section 76 of CEPA, please visit the webpage on how to request to assess a substance under CEPA. If, following the consideration of a request made under 76(1), the Ministers grant the request and add the substance to the Plan of Priorities, a multi-year ecological and human health assessment would be undertaken in consultation with the public. If an assessment concludes that a substance is determined to meet the criteria under section 64, risk management actions may be implemented. Response by the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature Signed by The Honourable JULIE DABRUSIN The actions requested under point 1 of the petition with respect to Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 , are not possible. As part of 2023 amendments to Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Priority Substances List provisions were repealed. In addition, “thermal coal” refers to a specific use or application of coal, it is not a substance per se and can therefore not be listed as a toxic substance itself. Thermal coal is a type of coal primarily used to generate heat and electricity. It is burned in boilers to produce steam, which then drives turbines to generate power. The combustion of coal produces carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide was added to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, Schedule 1 – List of Toxic Substances in November 2005. [1]Toxic substances list: carbon dioxide - Canada.ca Canada remains committed to implementing the Paris Agreement and to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. These goals require continued action and are essential to position Canada as a key player in the emerging low-carbon economy. Canada has already made real progress to cut emissions. Since 2005, we’ve reduced our emissions by 8.5%, while our economy has grown by 38%. Canada’s emissions are projected to decline further as policies and measures continue to be implemented across the country. Canada’s approach to climate change mitigation relies on a coordinated mix of measures that support emissions reductions while strengthening our economy. In particular, energy efficiency improvements, decarbonization of the electricity grid, and structural shifts in the economy have driven much of our success to date. In 2018, the federal government amended the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations so that by January 1, 2030, all coal-fired electricity generation units in Canada must meet an emissions intensity performance standard of 420 tonnes of carbon dioxide per gigawatt hour, the same standard applied to new natural gas-fired electricity generation units under the Regulations Limiting Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Natural Gas-fired Generation of Electricity. This means that all unabated coal-fired electricity in Canada will be phased out by 2030. Beginning in 2035, all coal-fired units must comply with the annual emissions limit under the Clean Electricity Regulations. Between 2013 and 2023, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity decreased by 29 megatonnes (a reduction of 34 percent) thanks to federal and provincial efforts to phase out coal-fired electricity generation and the shift to cleaner power generation2. Ontario ceased using coal for electricity in 2014. By 2023, coal was used to generate less than four percent of Canada’s electricity3, and this amount has continued to decline as Alberta completed its phase-out of coal-fired electricity in 2024, years ahead of schedule. Today, only Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick still use coal to produce electricity. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are implementing plans to switch to low- and non-emitting sources such as imports of hydroelectricity, nuclear, wind power and biomass. Furthermore, ending thermal coal exports aligns with Canada’s leadership as a Co-Chair of the Powering Past Coal Alliance. Members of the alliance commit to phase out unabated coal power by 2030 for members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and by 2040 in the rest of the world. Within the context of an environmental assessment of a federally designated project, Environment and Climate Change Canada reviews the proponent’s characterization of effects within federal jurisdiction and proposed measures to mitigate these effects in areas within the department’s mandate. Based on these reviews, Environment and Climate Change Canada provides expert information or knowledge to the authority responsible for the decision for their consideration. Projects that are not included in the Physical Activities Regulations of the Impact Assessment Act and are therefore not typically subject to a federal impact assessment must still be carried out in accordance with all relevant federal statutes and may therefore require federal permits or authorizations to ensure compliance with these statutes, should the project go ahead. Environment and Climate Change Canada will also cooperate with a province within the context of a provincial environmental assessment process when assistance is requested. Environment and Climate Change Canada may provide expert information or knowledge to the authority responsible for the assessment process in relation to effects within federal jurisdiction in areas within the department’s mandate. 1Toxic substances list: carbon dioxide - Canada.ca 22025 National Inventory Report supports Canada’s climate plan is working: emissions have dropped to their lowest level in 27 years (excluding pandemic years) - Canada.ca 3Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2025. National Inventory Report 1990–2023: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada Part 3, Table A13-1 En81-4-2023-3-eng.pdf (PDF, 6.03 MB).