I thought that this parallel coining is climate damaging, using coal,
I'm sure there is someone, somewhere using coal, but the majority of crypto miners need and want to use something less
in Alberta capped dormant wells to burn off gas that should be left in the ground, harassing nearby residences in the process.
If you're referring to off-gassing, this happens anyway. There is a tremendous amount of wasted energy but lots of this can now be harnessed. There would be no point converting this gas to electricity in the middle of no-where, but Crypto can make it worthwhile which then reduces the wasted emissions and brings economic benefit.
using more energy than many countries in total
It's very misleading to compare the total energy use to countries. It comes down to exactly which energy is being used. If it's energy that would otherwise be wasted then it isn't equivalent and it's misleading to imagine that preventing it would somehow save that energy - it wouldn't, it would still be created, just wasted.
Crypto miners can use excess energy (e.g. solar and wind, when it exceeds demand) and can make it more economical to have these installations by being a paying customer for them at times no one else wants or can use that power.