Who would have thought that one day Quebec, which has 3% of the planet’s fresh water reserves, would face water shortages. This was the case last year in Sutton, but also in certain municipalities of Montérégie where blue gold is rare. However, according to a latest report by Ouranos, climate change will inevitably accentuate the phenomenon. Even the majestic St. Lawrence River, on which nearly a third of the population as well as many industries and agricultural operations rely for their water supply, will be affected.
The Ouranos consortium unveiled a report on Wednesday, titled Regional outlook and funded by the federal government, which reviews the current and future effects, both good and bad, of climate change in Quebec and the efforts that must be made to adapt to it. While reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains a priority, “adaptation efforts over the next few years will make it possible to mitigate the economic and human impact of meteorological events, and even to seize certain opportunities that may arise”. the researchers point out. “The objective of adaptation is to learn to live with climate change which is inevitable. We also expect the rise in temperature in Quebec to reach twice the world average. Thus, if the objective of the Paris Agreement is respected, namely to limit warming to 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era—this is not what is emerging—the average temperature in Quebec will rise by 3°C. This increase could be 5°C if the global temperature eventually rises by 2.5°C. It is considerable.
As reported The duty, episodes of sharp drops in water levels will be both more severe and longer. They risk affecting the availability of drinking water and its quality, affecting both surface water and groundwater. Paradoxically, an increase in “the recurrence and intensity of floods as well as an increase in precipitation in the form of rain in winter and spring, and more intense episodes of extreme rain in summer and autumn”, may -we read in the report.
As for the St. Lawrence River, the possible decrease in water inflows into the Great Lakes could reduce its flow, which could have an impact on the irrigation of agricultural land and maritime transport.
The Ouranos report mentions the other effects of global warming to which we will have to adapt. Coastal erosion in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Côte-Nord, Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine is a phenomenon that is already clearly visible and has already required action. There are many segments of road that will need to be restored or moved.
These lines of communication are essential and they will absolutely have to be repaired when the waves, whose force is increased tenfold by the weak ice cover in winter and the storms, damage them. Moreover, the Ministère des Transports has already initiated a form of adaptation by identifying 273 vulnerable road segments.
The government has also been working to adapt to flooding following the devastating high floods of 2017 and 2019. The mapping of flood zones has been revised and, in some cases, land use planning rules have been tightened to prevent construction in risk areas.
Another important adaptation measure is the protection and restoration of wetlands which, as the researchers write, “help to temporarily store flood waters, regulate flows and clean up lakes and streams. of water”. In this regard, we must note that the efforts are far from sufficient.
At the end of April, the Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Benoit Charette, announced that he was increasing the amounts devoted to adaptation by 14% in his 2022-2027 implementation plan. It is a small part of the budget of 7.6 billion of the Plan for a green economy of the CAQ government. To this must be added, however, the 479 million to strengthen the protection of the territory against floods.
It is still very little. Sooner or later, the government, the municipalities but also the other actors of society will have to face the situation. Also, it is better to see ahead and prepare for the inevitable. For, ultimately, necessity is the mother of adaptation.