(Quebec) Quebec is committed to quantifying the impacts of climate change on jobs.
The Legault government unanimously passed a motion on what is called the “just transition” on Thursday. Québec solidaire (QS) also had the Chamber adopt a motion on COP26, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, held in Glasgow.
The “just transition” is an issue that has been strongly defended by the Parti Québécois (PQ): thousands of jobs could be threatened in the long term by the abandonment of fossil fuels in Quebec and the PQ wants to ensure that no one is left behind.
The Assembly asks the government to “produce a prospective study of the impacts of climate change on employment” and to identify “sources of funding for the just transition”, says the text of the motion presented by the Minister of the Environment. , Benoit Charette.
The PQ environmental spokesperson, Sylvain Gaudreault, had already pointed out that Quebec is behind in terms of just transition and that even Alberta has put more measures in place in this area.
He suggests taking up to $ 1 billion a year from the Generations Fund in order to help workers in the trucking, petrochemicals, cement and aluminum industries in particular.
GHG reduction
Under the QS motion also adopted on Thursday, the Legault government undertakes to comply with the commitments of the COP26 which took place in Glasgow in November.
The “Glasgow Pact” plans to step up the fight against climate change, but without including the obligation to limit the average rise in the planet’s temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
However, according to QS, this motion rather means that the government will be forced to revise its GHG reduction target set at 37.5% by 2030, in accordance with current commitments.
“If he does nothing in this direction, we will unfortunately have proof that, for the CAQ, international commitments only serve to fart the suspenders publicly”, commented the spokesperson for QS in matters of environment, Émilise Lessard-Therrien.
Remember that a motion is a resolution of the House _ the legislature _ which does not bind the government, that is to say the executive. It expresses a wish of the Assembly, but not an order.