During a column entitled “The world is not well”, Patrick Lagacé1 highlighted the duality between environmental awareness and travel, thus aggravating the already galloping eco-anxiety that plagues nearly one out of two Quebecers.2 However, although it seems necessary to me to diminish the romanticism that our society attributes to travel, I understand the validity of this desire.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Travel is somewhat the quintessence of our civilization; putting an end to it as a necessary condition for “being green” can have the counter-effect of reducing the support of the population for climate action. So maybe we should find a more… pragmatic approach.
The good news is that there is a mechanism that can allow us to travel sustainably: green hydrogen – for which the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonatan Julien, has just tabled a plan there, in addition to be the flagship project – “ECO” – of the PLQ.
It may sound like science fiction, but this technology is real and accessible.
As an example, consider the October 2021 suborbital flight performed by Blue Origin – the aerospace company owned by Jeff Bezos. In addition to having put the star of star trekWilliam Shatner, the rocket is propelled by green hydrogen and therefore does not emit polluting gases, like SpaceX’s kerosene, or more generally, that used in our planes.
Budding geniuses, don’t worry, no law of thermodynamics was broken. A mixture of oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2) is combined. This results in an electrochemical reaction that releases energy – the energy needed to lift the rocket – and emits water vapor as “waste” (H2O).
This technology could easily be applied soon, but it hits two walls. The first is financial – there must be a financial incentive for companies to invest in order to obtain these models; the second is political – politicians are reluctant to implement robust but necessary eco-fiscal measures. It’s a pity, yet it would give all the indications necessary for the industry to reduce its carbon footprint.
More precisely, the ecofiscal mechanism that we should apply is the carbon tax. Unfortunately, Quebec is not regulated in this regard, and the federal government omits international flights in its carbon tax coverage…
Many believe that the usefulness of the carbon tax lies in its ability to deter people from consuming a good. However, this is not entirely correct. The carbon tax aims to meet a need with the most efficient technology possible, under the constraint of respecting planetary borders with respect to pollution.
It is true that some will choose the train instead of the plane, but again, the tax did not deter travel, it redirected the consumption of a service to another similar and much less polluting.
However, there is no train that connects Montreal and Paris. It is here that the essence of the carbon tax takes on its full value.
By putting a decent price on carbon, we offer a financial incentive to aviation companies to acquire “eco-responsible” aircraft; companies with low-carbon aircraft will have more competitive prices than the competition and therefore sell more tickets.
It should be noted that this tax would be fiscally neutral, that is to say that a “basic universal income” would be financed via this tax and offered to all Canadian households, exactly like the federal carbon tax which is redistributive for 80 % of households. 3 I repeat: 80% of Canadians receive more carbon credits than they pay in tax. 4
In conclusion, although it would be beneficial to reduce the consumption inherent in travel, it will remain in our lives for years to come. That said, the climate crisis will not lessen, nor will our eco-anxiety if nothing is done. The best way to travel sustainably is to implement a robust carbon tax on aviation. In fact, as counter-intuitive as it may seem, the carbon tax is seen to be mainly for the benefit of travelers by emancipating them – in the medium term – from the current felt guilt, however unnecessary, as well as from the most deprived of society. – by offering them one of the most generous carbon credits.
4. Remember that Quebec is not governed by the federal tax, we have a carbon exchange, and the income from this exchange is used to finance the energy transition.