Quebec exceeds its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target set for 2020. Its emissions have decreased by 26.6% compared to 1990 levels, exceeding its initial ambition by nearly 7 percentage points. However, Quebec owes a great debt to the pandemic, “largely” responsible for the good climate report presented on Wednesday.
The pause in economic activity caused by COVID-19 has given traders many gray hairs, but it is now allowing the government to green its balance sheet.
Quebec, in 2020, produced 62.6 million tonnes of CO equivalent2 (Mt eq. C02). A considerable reduction from the 84.7 Mt eq. CO2 issued in 1990, carried out over a three-decade period that saw Quebec’s population increase by 23% and its gross domestic product by 67.3%.
The Quebec GHG inventory shows that between 2019 and 2020, emissions fell by 10.5% to 13.2% below the 1990 level. This decrease can be seen in all areas: transportation, industries, residential, commercial and institutional heating. The ministry concedes: this drop is “in part” attributable to the repercussions of the pandemic.
Telecommuting, senior ministry officials say, accounts for a significant portion of that decline.
The carbon market between California and Quebec also helped improve the results presented on Wednesday, as part of an update on the results of the climate action plan put in place by the CAQ government.
Quebec emitters purchased, still in 2020, emission rights representing a reduction of 11.4 Mt eq. CO2.
This report shows that in 2020, each Quebecer generated, on average, 8.6 tonnes of GHGs, for a total of 74 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Quebec accounted for 11% of Canadian emissions, a performance largely attributable to its hydroelectricity.