(Scott) The Quebec government will pay 500 million to cities to support them in adapting to climate change. To obtain funds, they will have to draft their own climate plan by 2026 and implement it “in part” for 2030.
“We hope that most municipalities will have developed this plan by 2026, we will hope that most municipalities will have implemented it in part by 2030,” indicated the Minister of the Environment Benoît Charette at the conference of press Thursday.
As revealed The Press in November, this envelope must be used to “support adaptation and local climate transition, in particular by financially supporting the development, planning and implementation of actions planned in climate plans as well as green infrastructure”.
Nearly a third of the envelope must be used to draft climate plans, which will contain measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change. The funds will be used in particular to acquire scientific knowledge, for example on the availability of water in a territory. The other portion of the amount will “support the planning and implementation of projects resulting from climate plans. »
Electrification
Minister Charette points out that five cities, Gatineau, Laval, Montreal, Victoriaville and Quebec already have this type of plan. The measures that will be subsidized may vary from one city to another, the minister said. “This could mean decarbonizing municipal buildings, such as city hall or the arena, or electrifying the municipal vehicle fleet, or developing more resilient sectors by fighting against heat islands,” he said. said.
This agreement was announced with the Minister of Municipal Affairs Andrée Laforest. The plan will be written by the MRC, then must be approved by the Ministry of the Environment, but it is the Ministry of Mme Laforest who will be responsible for its implementation with the cities, and who will help them obtain funding, which will come from the Electrification and Climate Change Fund, but also from other government programs.
The president of the Union of Quebec Municipalities, Martin Damphousse, and the president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalities, Jacques Demers, were happy with this announcement.
The Accelerate Local Climate Transition (ATCL) program “will allow Quebec to develop climate plans for its entire inhabited territory, taking into account the particularities of each region,” said Mr. Demers.
There is no legal or regulatory obligation for cities to have a climate plan, but this plan will be necessary to obtain sums from the ATCL.