In quick succession, the recent releases of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the federal government’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan for Canada have had the effect of discouraging many people.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
According to the IPCC, to achieve the targets of the Paris agreement, a substantial reduction in the consumption and production of fossil fuels is needed. Around the same time, our provincial and federal governments recognized that they could not meet the targets in time to limit global warming, declaring that it was simply impossible.
However, in Quebec, it is now possible to considerably reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, as well as energy waste.
This is particularly the case in the industrial sector as a whole, which is responsible for nearly 44% of Québec’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions report. In fact, the decarbonization of the industrial sector has already begun. For example, projects carried out by Ecosystem have reduced GHG emissions from the activities of agri-food, metallurgical and aeronautical companies by nearly 35%. In the institutional sector, we contribute to reducing the emissions of the buildings in which we operate by an average of 50%.
Our four most recent projects in schools will even provide reductions ranging from 60 to 92%. We estimate that our projects, whose value exceeds one billion dollars, have saved our customers $587 million in cumulative energy costs and avoided the emission of 800,000 tonnes of GHGs.
We do not claim here that such reductions are reproducible in a systematic and constant way. They simply illustrate what is possible.
Quebec has several advantages for reducing its GHGs: the strength of its hydroelectric capacities, proven technologies, several subsidy programs and enviable expertise in the field. That said, we must go further and add other levers that are within our reach and that other countries have already deployed.
Our experience has shown us, among other things, that project results materialize when interests are aligned. To achieve this, we must put a price on carbon, provide bold incentives, introduce regulatory constraints to encourage change and rely on contracts or methods of supply based on environmental and financial results.
We need the government to create an environment conducive to innovation and the implementation of creative solutions rather than telling us that it is impossible for us to respect our international commitments and provide our children with a viable environment.
More specifically, we need simplicity in financing and access to subsidies, as well as eco-taxation. Current cumbersome and complex approaches delay and limit the start of projects. The government must raise the bar and provide the tools for the industry to find solutions.
In short, as I have just pointed out, the decarbonization of our industries and our buildings has already begun. Rather than being discouraged by the future, we should use all available levers and technologies to respond “present” now to achieve our GHG emission reduction targets.