In an opinion piece published Tuesday in The duty, Gérard Montpetit ridiculed the idea of increasing hydrocarbon production in Canada to meet demand and contribute to European energy security. This opinion of Mr. Montpetit does not seem very humanistic to us given the current situation, not to mention the necessary global energy transition in which Quebec, with its natural gas, can and must play an important role.
Rather than simply demonizing natural gas, Mr. Montpetit would benefit from seeing this resource for what it really is: transitional energy. As demonstrated by the International Energy Agency (IEA), between 2010 and 2018, the conversion of coal plants to natural gas avoided the emission of 500 million tonnes of GHGs in the world, the equivalent of nearly six years of GHG emissions from Quebec at 2019 levels. In addition, according to IEA projections, global demand for natural gas should increase by 30% by 2050. Quebecers are therefore right to support the exploration and development of this resource on their territory.
Moreover, countries highly dependent on Russian hydrocarbons and coal in general would benefit from using Canadian and Quebec hydrocarbons not only to ensure their energy security, but also, and above all, to switch from coal to natural gas, which is twice less polluting. This is notably the case of Germany and Poland. Important fact to note: coal production in the United States and China exploded in 2021, a situation that runs counter to the energy transition. This is why we must bet on natural gas. GHG emissions are borderless, so a local increase in GHG emissions that allows for a reduction on a global scale is desirable.
In his text, Mr. Montpetit attacks our employer, the Montreal Economic Institute (IEDM), by evoking a petrostrategic conspiracy between us and other world organizations. Let us recall in passing that the financing of the MEI by the oil sector accounts for only 5% of the total of the donations received, that is to say enough money to pay for the time and the computer which made it possible to write this paper… and can -be part of our desk lamp! Let’s not forget that the MEI is an independent research institute that promotes public policies that allow society to be more prosperous; however, the case of the exploitation of natural gas in Quebec could bring in 93 billion dollars for the GDP of the province. It is difficult to dispute the economic potential of this resource, which has a role to play in the global energy transition.
Another funny fact, Mr. Montpetit accuses us of promoting hydrocarbons using as a source… an external survey carried out among the Quebec population! The latter was carried out by the polling firm IPSOS last March, recognized as credible within the industry. Rather than taunting the vision of Quebec families, a careful reading would have enabled Mr. Montpetit—and several others—to take into account Quebec public opinion on the issue of hydrocarbons.
A legitimate public opinion
The multiple epithets used to discredit the MEI only demonstrate Mr. Montpetit’s disconnect with the will of Quebecers. However, he is not the only one: the quasi-unanimity of the National Assembly on the question — less than 1% of our elected representatives, that is only one elected representative, believe in the exploitation of hydrocarbons — demonstrates the cleavage between our leaders and the 52% of Quebecers who want to exploit hydrocarbons.
This lack of representativeness suits many activists and, at the same time, runs counter to a healthy democratic representativeness within our political institutions. Not only does Mr. Montpetit demonstrate a counterproductive ecological puritanism with regard to the energy transition, but he also delegitimizes the opinion of Quebeckers.
When the majority of the population considers that the production of hydrocarbons should be favored over imports, why mock this position by affixing labels such as “oil”? Does Mr. Montpetit consider that more than half of Quebecers are “petroleum”? For our part, no offense to certain ideologues, we simply note that this majority perceives the importance of national energy autonomy and the economic and environmental benefits of the exploitation of Quebec’s natural gas.
The energy transition is necessary — and desirable — and Quebec has the undoubted potential to contribute to it thanks to its natural gas reserves. Let’s be proactive and move forward with a reduction of GHGs that will go through the export of Quebec natural gas: this is the attitude to adopt by any promoter of the energy transition.