Greenpeace Questions Worth of Fraser Surrey Docks Expansion

The Vancouver Sun reported that Calvin Quek, head of Greenpeace East Asia’s Sustainable Finance Program, believes that building terminals aimed at shipping more coal to East Asia — such as the planned Fraser Surrey Docks expansion — could be a waste of time and money due to new caps on coal usage in China.

As quoted in the market news:

Quek said China’s new federal energy plan now includes caps on coal use for future development. The caps are concentrated in the country’s three main economic regions: Beijing/Hebei province, Shanghai and surrounding areas, and the Pearl River Delta in Southern China (near Hong Kong). The plan is aimed at addressing the growing concerns of China’s growing middle class, whose calls for cleaner air have been on the rise in recent years.

The cap will limit primary energy consumption at four billion metric tons of standard coal by 2015, potentially reducing annual coal consumption by 83 million tons. And with ample resources already within its borders, Quek questions whether coal projects — such as the one in Surrey — aren’t facing a shrinking market before they are built.

Click here to read the full report from The Vancouver Sun.

Click here to read more about the Fraser Surrey Docks expansion.