When I drive on rue Notre-Dame, heading west, approaching the Jacques-Cartier bridge, I slow down. I try to locate, on my left, towards the river, a small tree. I worry about him. Is he well? Has it withstood the recent ice storm? Smog, winds, vandals?
We got together to plant it, on Earth Day 2013, me, Minister for Metropolitan France, him, Yves-François Blanchet, Minister for the Environment in the Marois government. As no one had placed in front of him a plaque highlighting this in no way historic event, I cannot say today which one is ours. I would have to compare with the press photos of the time, that I measure the distances, that I establish its geolocation.
Every little bit counts, of course. But every big gesture counts much more. At this point in the warming story, we are no longer—or at least shouldn’t be—at the stage of sorting out GHG reduction measures. We should be pulling all the levers at the same time.
It is obviously scandalous that the Canadian government continues, through our taxes, to subsidize the exploration and development of hydrocarbons. Scandalous that Canadian production of the fuel responsible for global warming is on track to grow by 50% within 20 years. (It’s hard to imagine what the situation would be if our environment minister weren’t a renowned environmentalist.)
Canada is also getting involved in the latest fashionable fad: financing carbon capture and storage, a dwarf technology that has to date never fulfilled its promises and of which, in any case, all costs should be borne by the polluters, not by the polluted. (I invite you to watch the ironic but well-informed debunking of this scam by Australians.) But unless we declare independence in the coming months, there’s not much we can do about it.
In Quebec, another phase of the Quebec environmental strategy is announced for us soon. Here’s what I think should be there:
Car. Since transportation still constitutes a major part of our emissions, a serious program of voluntary renunciation of the second car and the solo car should be deployed. I would include a strong incentive for carpooling. How ? The CAQ should steal our 2018 PQ proposal for “Tinder carpooling”. It proposed to pay the driver and passenger three or four dollars per trip during rush hour, which would take at least 150,000 cars off the road, all financed by the Green Fund (just over 75 million per year, we thought then).
The speed gain must be immediately perceptible thanks to the lanes reserved for buses, taxis and carpoolers with three or four passengers. A strong financial incentive for the use of electric car sharing (Communauto and company) should be introduced for the first six months, especially in the suburbs, as for the use of electric bicycles, the time that users discover their virtues.
The bus. We should also sting the proposal of Québec solidaire of 2022 to establish a Société Québec-Bus for an electric supply of reliable interurban connections at a reasonable cost. Integrate into the price of the trip a free public transport ticket at the point of departure and arrival, or a reduction for the use of an electric taxi to reassure the traveler: it will be from door to door… All of this , coated with an advertising campaign on the theme of “the second car, do you really need it? or “Can you really afford it? along with examples of the considerable savings made by second car dropouts. (Hint: it’s more than $11,000/year.) The ban on gas-powered car advertising should be immediate, like the surcharge, increasing over time, on the most polluting models (don’t tell me not write: I know that several SUVs offer low consumption).
The fields. Credible scenarios announce a significant and permanent increase in oil prices soon. Nations that have quickly electrified their commercial distribution fleets and agricultural rolling stock will be able to cushion the blow alone. (The establishment of a strategic oil reserve in Quebec is necessary to pass this course.) The warming and drying up, in particular, but not only, of the southwestern United States will cause a significant agricultural scarcity, therefore a rising prices, which should lead us to accelerate our self-sufficiency as soon as possible and in as many food sectors as possible.
Trees. I return to my tree. It only makes sense if it has hundreds of thousands of colleagues. The demonstration is well established: in urban areas, the canopy reduces extreme temperatures, the number of deaths during heat waves, the cost of energy devoted to air conditioning.
The greening of parking lots, these bitumen lakes, should be encouraged and be the subject of annual regional and national prizes (one million dollars!) to trigger strong emulation. Let the pioneering companies and shopping centers take pride in it and make it an argument to attract customers, let the others die of shame! Dyes that turn bitumen red, blue or green should also be tested to reduce heat absorption and retention.
A party. It is not just a matter of state. Each citizen should be called upon to plant a tree each year, on land that belongs to them, or in pots on their balconies. Make it an event, an annual celebration, with the Prime Minister, ministers, MPs, mayors and councilors leading by example, every Earth Day. Put neighborhoods and boroughs in friendly competition to increase their green coverage, year after year. I don’t know if this is the case for Yves-François, but at home, my shovel is ready.