GLASGOW | François Legault admits to having “evolved” on the environmental issue since 2018. Premier Caquiste reconciled his mantra on wealth creation with the climate emergency by discovering the green market that is offered in Quebec.
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If environmental considerations were largely absent from his electoral platform, it is because the question is largely a consensus in Quebec, said Prime Minister François Legault Thursday during a review of his visit to COP26.
“It played out in the position I took in 2018. I said to myself: the four parties are aware of the climate challenge we have. So we weren’t very different ”by counting on these issues, he says.
But since then, the fight against climate change has revealed its promises of new opportunities for Quebec. “There, we may have developed new sectors by saying: we will, at the same time as we are going to reduce GHGs, create new sectors, new industries in Quebec,” he explained.
The Prime Minister cites in particular the construction of buses and electric trains, as well as the production of “green” hydrogen produced using hydroelectricity and the battery sector as markets of the future for Quebec.
“That, on that, indeed, I evolved”, confides Mr. Legault, quoting a slogan of his government “More wealth, less GHG”. “This is what I may have achieved more than ever,” said the chef caquiste.
Reducing greenhouse gases has a “cost”, he agrees, but also represents “an extraordinary opportunity in Quebec, especially because we have surplus electricity”.
New announcements
François Legault concluded his mission to the UN summit on climate change by unveiling new business initiatives to reduce Quebec’s GHG footprint.
The producer of Crown Royal whiskey, Diageo, will cut its emissions by 40,000 tonnes annually by switching from natural gas and heavy fuel oil to hydroelectricity. Québec, Ottawa and Hydro-Québec will invest $ 45.8M in the conversion project of the distillery located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
The companies Alcoa and Rio Tinto have also announced that the Elysis technology, which makes it possible to manufacture carbon-free aluminum, will pass to the test stage at the industrial stage. Ultimately, the use of this technology would completely eliminate GHG emissions in the aluminum industry, i.e. 5 megatonnes of GHGs annually.
This represents 18% of the effort required to reach Quebec’s target of reducing its emissions by 37.5% by 2030.
An alliance against hydrocarbons
COP26 was also an opportunity for François Legault to announce that Quebec will join the new Beyond Gas and Oil Alliance, set up by Costa Rica and Denmark.
The Prime Minister recently announced the end of exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in Quebec. For François Legault, this means that the Caisse de dépôt will also have to gradually divest itself of its oil assets (which is already planned) and natural gas, although this could be a transitional energy.
“It’s just a matter of timing,” he said. Eventually, the Caisse and Investissement Québec will also have to go out of gas. ”
At the same time as the announcements, Mr. Legault had to defend his desire to move forward at all costs with the tunnel project between Quebec and Lévis. Not only is the project seen as a contradiction to the goal of reducing GHGs, but his government says it will happen regardless of the conclusions of environmental assessments.