El Salvador lawmakers overturn mining ban Bukele called absurd
El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban all forms of metals mining in 2017.
Canada’s largest mining companies have endorsed the federal government’s effort to establish a national price on carbon pollution, publishing Wednesday a series of principles local miners believe should be part of a national policy on climate change.
In its proposal, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) recommends, among others, the adoption of a broad-based carbon price applicable to all sectors of the Canadian economy.
Miners’ proposal comes as Ottawa works with the provinces and territories to establish a pan-Canadian approach to carbon pricing.
Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the association representing most large miners, including coal and oil sands producers such as Teck Resources, Suncor Energy and Syncrude, said the document is based on 16 years of MAC’s members’ constant efforts to reduce emissions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the 13 provincial and territorial premiers agreed last month in Vancouver to shape a national climate strategy within six months. While they agreed there was a need for carbon pricing, there was no consensus on what that actually entails or whether Ottawa should set a minimum price.
Some premiers, including Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall, rejected the idea of a broad-based carbon price, saying it would hurt the economy.
Canada’s mining association unveiled its first climate change guidelines in 2000. In the years that followed, the group has worked to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through measures such as MAC’s mandatory Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative as well as individual company efforts.
In 2009, MAC adopted the International Council on Mining and Metals’ climate change policy, which recognizes that comprehensive and sustained global action is required to reduce the scale of human-induced climate change and to adapt to its impact.
7 Comments
Krusty1234
Although it likely won’t ever be expressed in the media, it would be very interesting to hear what each MAC member’s own acceptance is on the institution of carbon pricing. And further to that, under what jurisdiction or authority will the MAC have to impose carbon pricing on any member, as we all know the eventual taxation may likely be locally or regionally defined by government? The Feds and/or the Provinces will have to consider the very dicey economic effects that are already burying the Canadian Mining community, regardless of what the MAC views as “standards” for CO2 emissions and any imposed carbon taxing. The outcomes of this thought process could very well be the fine line for many operations.
Conodo Mose
Such view is tantamount to submission to extortion. Any imagined danger of climate change linked to carbon dioxide is found only in the minds of computer models. There is no proof. There is no evidence.
Art Easian
Just when cooling has started our genius leaders ‘haw’ to the reins of the left. These polar vortices are not caused by carbon dioxide increase of 100 parts per million in 100 years. Who could believe that? – only the rich and famous glorious leaders of our failing mining industry. How desperate. As solar cycle 24 winds to a close we can watch helplessly as a cool summer turn into another long and brutal winter for Canada east of the rockies. We are all the victims of their ignorance. Pity the coal miner’s daughter.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ewkffjyieovc9je/Atmospheric%20Rossby%20Waves%20%201%20March%202016.pptx?dl=0
Art Easian
By the way, I forgot to mention the file photo is a classic propaganda picture of steam rising from an upgrader in winter and has nothing whatsoever to do with carbon dioxide. We exhale 30-50,000 ppm with every breath and it is invisible. I have 90 similar propaganda photos of steam proxying for carbon dioxide on my hard drive. Nearly every news media uses these file photos. Our industry is running scared from an unrelenting convinced cohort of true believers in their unscientific and unquantifiable hypothesis. According to an Angus Reid survey a few years ago that cohort that hates mining is only 15% of Canadians; the student intellectuals. They will win it all, however, because MAC is not fighting back. Our only hope is that hell freezes over. Pity the farmers.
cordilleran
It’s very easy for the executives of these companies to sign on to progressive policy. They live very comfortable lives, and will retire just fine whether the commodities economy tanks or not, and whether Canadian mining is competitive with Latin America or Asia or Africa or not. The rest of us will pay with our jobs, a decent retirement, and chances for our kids to make a good living at mining.
I’d love the chance to debate the science of climate change with these spineless traitors, but in the end it would be a pointless exercise since I doubt even one of them knows the difference between TCR and ECS.
Krusty1234
If these execs have stock options, they’re either horribly misinformed, incompetent, or they’ve already sold.
patent bs
When they endorse a broad based tax what they mean is INSTEAD of a targeted tax like some folks have in mind.
Spineless critters! Political butt kissers! They have given up and are trying to spread the pain to everybody.