A coalition of environmental groups, scientists and trade unions are advocating for the acceleration of the exit from natural gas in the building sector in Quebec. The group argues that this shift would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and risks to human health, but also to turn away from an industry that uses hydraulic fracturing more than ever, a technology prohibited here.
“There is no longer any doubt that gas is risky for the climate and the environment, from fracking to consumption. Faced with the emergency, we must act responsibly and abandon this destructive energy”, argued Tuesday morning the member organizations of this coalition, which say they want to “counter misinformation on this fossil fuel by alerting the Quebec population to the various risks associated with its use.
Currently, Quebec imports the natural gas it consumes. This is 99% of fossil origin, since barely 1% of the gas circulating in the Énergir distributor network is renewable natural gas (RNG). And the majority of the gas imported from Western Canada and the United States is exploited using hydraulic fracturing, a technology prohibited in Quebec. Moreover, the coalition recalls, the gas burned in buildings represents 7% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in Quebec and 63% of emissions in the building sector.
“After 20 years of struggles and victories against the exploration, exploitation and transport of fossil fuels in Quebec, for the sake of consistency, it is time to tackle consumption,” argues Anne-Céline Guyon. , project manager on climate issues at Nature Québec. According to her, the exit from natural gas would make it possible to make significant gains in view of achieving the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the province.
Risk for the health
The coordinator of the Quebec Association of Physicians for the Environment, Patricia Clermont, for her part insists on the health risks. Natural gas, she insists, “seriously affects, although too often and for too long in insidious ways, the health of our children and the most vulnerable”. She discusses the risks associated with the hydraulic fracturing industry, but also those attributable to the use of gas stoves.
The coalition, which brings together about fifteen organizations, therefore urges the Legault government to act for the “decarbonization” of buildings, an idea also mentioned by the City of Montreal. However, Hydro-Québec opposes it, judging that total conversion to electricity would not be realistic.
The organizations gathered at the Maison du développement durable, in Montreal, believe that the shift would be possible “by combining sobriety, energy efficiency and sound management of peak demand”. They admit in the same breath that “the abandonment of gas in buildings will not happen overnight”, judging that it will take more than 20 years to achieve this. But such a commitment would be consistent with Quebec’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, according to Marie-Noëlle Foschini, coordinator of the coalition.
More details to come.