“Significant progress” for Quebec could emerge from the Glasgow conference on the climate, affirms the Quebec Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, Benoit Charette.
He is particularly enthusiastic about the progress of discussions on the concept of carbon pricing, he said in an interview with Press, Tuesday, on its last day at the 26e United Nations Climate Conference (COP26).
“Quebec strongly hopes that this will be in the final wording of the declaration, and if this were the case, it would be another demonstration [qu’il] was fairly visionary on this issue when he joined the common market with California a few years ago, ”said the minister.
Benoit Charette is also delighted with the interest aroused by its Carbon Exchange, in particular by New Zealand, which “confirmed its interest in joining [ce] common market ”, which should normally be done“ in the next year ”.
Other states in the United States have also shown interest, which was a “revelation” for Minister Charette.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change
A certain number of American governors wanted to meet with us, we will make sure that the necessary information is passed on.
Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change
Article 6
Minister Charette also said he hoped that the negotiations would make it possible to reach an agreement on “the famous article 6” of the Paris agreement, which should regulate emissions reductions exchanges between countries, but for which the discussions had failed during COP24 and COP25.
“Put simply, it is to recognize, under certain conditions, the climate effort of a state on the territory of another state”, summarizes the Minister, who sees in it a great interest for Quebec.
The province could, for example, account for a portion of the reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that the State of New York will achieve by obtaining electricity from renewable sources in Quebec.
“Of course, guidelines are necessary, because we do not want the reductions to be double counted by the two states,” he admits.
The minister’s enthusiasm is not shared by Équiterre, who regrets that the government is betting on its past decisions rather than increasing its climate ambition, told Press Andréanne Brazeau, mobility analyst for the organization, joined in Glasgow.
The COP is not a [Forum économique mondial de] Davos Green, it’s not just a place to make deals, sell electricity and batteries. What we want to see during the COPs is an increase in ambition.
Andréanne Brazeau, Équiterre
Ambition criticized
Minister Charette rejects the criticisms leveled at Quebec for having come to COP26 with the same GHG reduction target as the one he adopted in anticipation of COP21 in Paris in 2015, whose final agreement precisely foresees an increase in ambition every five years.
“The Paris Agreement does not require an increase in the targets as long as the targets making it possible to achieve the objective of [limiter le réchauffement planétaire à] 1.5 ° C are respected, ”he argues.
“It is his interpretation, but it is not mine”, retorts Hugo Séguin, partner at the International Research Center of the University of Montreal (CÉRIUM) and lecturer at the University of Sherbrooke.
“Quebec did not arrive in Glasgow with the best it could do”, regrets the one who is also principal adviser at Copticom, a consulting firm on the stakes of transition, noting in the discharge of the Legault government “that none State only arrived in Glasgow with a contribution to the tune of what is needed to counter climate change ”.
Quebec should reduce its GHG emissions to at least 65% below their 1990 level by 2030 to do its “fair share” to limit global warming to 1.5 ° C, concluded a study carried out by a coalition of environmental organizations unveiled a few days before the start of COP26.
“These are percentages which, scientifically speaking, are not justified,” said the minister, which made environmental groups jump.
“What is not scientific is having a target that is incompatible with limiting the warming to 1.5 ° C!” Exclaims Caroline Brouillette, director of national policies at the Climate Action Network Canada, located in Glasgow.
” [Le ministre] refuses to see the historical responsibility of Quebec, he refuses to see that Quebec must do more than the others because of its historical responsibility, that is to say, but he cannot say that it is not scientific ”, affirms Thomas Burelli , professor of law at the University of Ottawa, who represented the Center québécois du droit de l’environnement at COP26.
“We polluted for years, what do we do with this responsibility? He asks. It’s still a bit cheeky. ”
Interesting announcements at COP26
Apart from criticism of its climate ambition, Quebec still scored points at COP26, say observers to whom Press talked. Its participation in the new Alliance Beyond Oil and Gas (Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, BOGA) is significant and has the “potential to create a domino effect with other North American jurisdictions”, welcomes Caroline Brouillette , of the Climate Action Network Canada. Andréanne Brazeau, from Équiterre, hopes that Quebec will show the same leadership as that shown in carbon pricing. “Quebec arrived prepared, worked its alliances in advance and made announcements that show it in action”, as evidenced by the award it received on this subject, believes Hugo Séguin, of CERIUM, who hopes that Prime Minister François Legault will return from this COP “transformed” as his predecessors were.