(Quebec) The Legault government takes a harsh view of the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction plan presented by the federal government.
Updated yesterday at 4:43 p.m.
Quebec has a “better funded and more rigorous” approach than that of the Trudeau government, according to CAQ Environment Minister Benoit Charette – who nevertheless hopes to obtain federal assistance for his own plan.
Québec solidaire, for its part, argued that the Legault government has nothing to brag about, while the Parti Québécois (PQ) denounced the federal aid that continues to be paid to the oil companies.
Quebec will devote $7.7 billion over five years to reducing GHGs, while knowing that additional efforts remain to be determined to reach the target, while the federal government judges that $9 billion over eight years across the country will be enough to reach its target. reduction target,” noted Mr. Charette.
“It’s a bit ironic,” he said in a press scrum at the National Assembly. I wish them good luck. »
Mr. Charette deplored that the plan of his federal counterpart Steven Guilbeault lacks precision, as well as tools to monitor the progress of efforts year after year.
The ambition is “clearly” on the Quebec side, he continued.
The federal plan specifically targets the oil and gas industry, which is practically absent from Quebec. However, Mr. Charette would like Quebec to also benefit from federal measures and funding to help it achieve its GHG reduction targets.
The minister hopes in particular for additional financial assistance for buyers of electric vehicles, while the CAQ government has just reduced its support for the purchase of this type of vehicle.
Ottawa plans to spend $1.7 billion to expand an incentive program for zero-emission vehicles that aims to lower their cost to purchase.
Remember that the Legault government’s Green Plan plans to reduce GHG emissions by 37.5% by 2030, in accordance with the international obligations of the Paris Agreement on the fight against climate change.
However, the CAQ plan is incomplete, since it includes measures to achieve approximately 50% of the objective, or nearly 15 megatonnes of GHGs out of 29, and remains silent on what must be done for the remaining 50%.
“The Minister’s pride is in a bad place, the CAQ’s plan will not even reach half of the target according to the Government of Quebec’s own model,” commented MNA Manon Massé, from Quebec solidaire (QS). . It’s almost embarrassing to brag about it! »
Under the federal climate plan, the oil and gas industry will have to reduce its GHG emissions by 42% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.
According to the Parti Québécois (PQ), the federal plan is a failure “all the way” because it essentially serves to make all sectors pay for pollution in the oil sector.
In addition, there is no cap on GHG emissions for the oil sector, recalled PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
“We are obliged to launch 9 billion in investments to compensate for the gifts we give to the oil companies,” he said at a press conference.
“I want the $2 billion that we send to Alberta in the oil sands to be invested here in Quebec, in green energies, in the energy transition. […] It should be a source of shame for those who try to sell us federalism as something environmentally acceptable. »