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Let’s also not forget that coal is one of B.C.’s biggest exports, with more than 36 million tonnes shipped out — most of it through coastal waterways — from Vancouver in 2017. Westshore Terminals in Delta is North America’s biggest coal-export facility.

As a major fossil-fuels exporter, Canada has an important role to play in mitigating the environmental damage that these products cause. With the U.S. abrogating its climate-change responsibilities, it’s even more important that Canada take action. But effective action doesn’t mean leaving the oil in the ground.

As much as electric vehicles can help reduce atmospheric pollution, it will be a long time before they replace gasoline-powered engines. Even then, we will still need pavement to drive them on, lubricants to keep them running and plastic parts to build them. All of these require oil, and a lot more of it than most people realize. Oil will be part of our energy future for decades, as much as we might try to wean ourselves off of it.

In that context, it behooves Canada to assume a mantle of leadership in mitigating the amount of carbon released in fossil-fuel production. If we don’t, we leave the field to the players who don’t give a fig for such considerations.

Horgan’s hint of a long-term solution to the pipeline controversy offers a ray of hope in ending the bitter and destructive controversy around the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Let’s hope our political leaders seize it and pave the way to a more sustainable energy future.

Joseph Maloney is international vice-president for Canada of the Boilermakers union, a major, skilled trade in the construction and maintenance of processing and refining facilities in the energy industry.

Letters to the editor should be sent to provletters@theprovince.com. The editorial pages editor is Gordon Clark, who can be reached at gclark@postmedia.com.

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