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“Alberta is increasingly unusual in deriving such a high percentage of its electricity from coal,” said Rick Smith, executive director of the Broadbent Institute, an Ottawa-based policy think tank affiliated with Notley’s party. “There are so many cost-effective alternatives these days. You see the tangible, measurable results of this in the greater Toronto area, where the air is cleaner.’”

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Campaign Platform

While Notley’s government has yet to present any concrete plans, her campaign platform pledged a coal phase-out, an expansion of cleaner energy, as well as loans to families, farms and small businesses to retrofit buildings to reduce energy use.

“Failing to deal with climate change issues creates uncertainty,” Notley told reporters in Calgary on May 27. “To suggest that we never change anything ever, ever, ever going forward is not particularly responsible, given the worldwide conversation around climate change.”

Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said Tuesday that new climate-change regulations will be in place by the end of this month, and that public consultation on the province’s renewable energy and energy efficiency strategies will be held in coming months.

Alberta’s possibilities include an accelerated coal phase- out beyond a federal goal of shutting or refitting plants after 50 years of operations, as well as raising the C$15-per-ton price on carbon for large emitters and expanding it to a broader range of sources, said Ed Whittingham, executive director at the Pembina Institute, a Calgary-based environmental research group. Eliminating emissions from coal plants is the “low-hanging fruit,” he said.