Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The second-highest-valued merchandise export to the People's Republic of China in 2023 was bituminous coal. When we look at the record of China on climate change and coal, their words and western governments' approaches to this issue are completely contradictory.
Ten years ago, I think it was reasonable for western governments to propose co-operation with China on climate change and GHG emissions. Many people, including western governments, thought coal demand would peak in 2013—including the IEA, I might add—and decline from there.
They thought the PRC would work in good faith with the world community on reducing emissions, but a report came out last year from a Finnish-based non-governmental organization called the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and from Global Energy Monitor, which is a second not-for-profit that monitors fossil fuel infrastructure. In 2022, China approved the largest expansion of coal-fired power plants since 2015. In the rush to build these new coal-fired plants, they granted permits for 106 gigawatts of capacity in 82 new locations across China—the highest number since 2015, and four times higher than in 2021.
As a result, China is now burning more coal than the rest of the world combined, and the world this year is burning more coal than it ever has—a record amount. Last year, the world burned a record amount of coal, as it did in the previous year. This is all because of China's absolute commitment to massively expanding the burning of coal, which happens to be one of our largest exports to the People's Republic of China.
In November of 2021, Canada announced its intention to ban thermal coal exports in six short years to the People's Republic of China. Are these two things compatible? That's my question.