COP27 ended with modest gains last month, more about managing disaster than creating hope, and now the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) has opened to Montreal in an equally gloomy tone.
Addressing delegates gathered at the Palais des Congrès, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday that ” [l]he war of humanity against nature is ultimately a war against ourselves”.
This war against ourselves is perfectly reflected in the decision-makers’ lack of eagerness to act, which they mask by adopting a falsely determined attitude. All this is perfectly summed up by the crooked smile and penetrating tone of Justin Trudeau when he appeared at the lectern on Wednesday to praise his government’s investments in the protection of natural spaces “in partnership with indigenous peoples”. On the same day, Canada was designated among the dunces for the management of its forests. This is without mentioning the severe criticism expressed regarding the green light given by the Liberal government to the Bay du Nord oil project, which threatens marine ecosystems while being incompatible with the objectives of reducing GHGs.
These days, these destructive contradictions are reproduced on the provincial scene, not without a touch of absurdity. While he recently embarked on a campaign on energy sobriety, the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, we learn, did not hesitate to participate in October to a pheasant hunting party in period clothing, on a private island in Lake Memphremagog.
The case, revealed by the Bureau of Investigation of the Montreal Journalis prodigious: the Minister of the Economy, repeatedly singled out for ethical issues, indulged in this extravagant activity in the company of an exclusive group of businessmen who had received public subsidies.
The opposition parties immediately demanded that a (sixth) investigation be opened by the Ethics Commissioner. However, the Minister defended himself by saying he was completely “comfortable” with his personal hobbies, adding that maintaining this type of relationship is a “strength” when one is in government. The minister is proud of those around him, proud of his way of life, proud to belong to his caste; because in Quebec, that’s how we lead.
All appearance of conflict of interest aside, it is this ease that is remarkable, remarkable irony. In recent weeks, Mr. Fitzgibbon has been encouraging Quebecers on all platforms to adopt a more sober energy lifestyle, while Hydro-Quebec could face a shortfall in electricity as of 2027.
Solutions have to be found, he explains, there are not thousands of them, and changing household consumption habits is one of them. “To know what is happening in the world, we are not sober in our consumption,” he said last week. We, as consumers, need to change our habits. Maybe wash the dishes, we’ll do it at midnight. »
We laughed at the formula, but we must recognize that he is not wrong. Moreover, the reservations expressed with regard to this proposal say a lot about the road to follow to get there. Reducing consumption during peak periods, getting used to homes that are a little colder in winter and a little warmer in summer, living in a smaller space, forgetting the heated swimming pool and the second home (obviously) — these are all of the things we can and should do.
Except that the vision defended by the minister scrupulously avoids talking about social inequalities and the different lifestyles associated with them. For example, not all citizens have the means to optimize their energy consumption, making it difficult to overcome the deficient insulation of their homes, or being constrained by a timetable set at peak times. But above all, in Quebec, energy consumption increases with the level of income in a very clear way. It’s the elephant in the room: Minister Fitzgibbon’s pleas for individual sobriety are primarily aimed at people who have a lifestyle similar to his.
This is without mentioning, of course, the limits of approaches focusing first on household sobriety — knowing that the residential sector consumes only 32% of Hydro-Québec’s production. Not to mention, too, the fact that the planning of electricity utilities in the near future is out of step with the efforts needed to achieve climate objectives, as noted by the Trottier Energy Institute.
In this sense, Fitzgibbon’s discourse is marked by a subtle disempowerment. To critics, he replies that individual sobriety is simply an option worth considering. If you don’t like it, he said roughly, no problem, but we will still have to make up for the shortfall. In subtext: if you don’t want to make an effort, don’t hear your complaints when choosing less clean energy sources.
The war against ourselves resurfaces where we least expect it: far from calling for a profound change in favor of the adoption of a sustainable way of life, Minister Fitzgibbon’s campaign is more like an alibi .