Climate change | Quebec must curb truck transport, pleads an advisory committee

Make the trucking industry pay for kilometers traveled on the roads, develop rail and maritime transport of goods; Quebec must change its approach to successfully decarbonize the heavy transport sector, argues the Advisory Committee on Climate Change in an opinion which will be made public this Wednesday and that The Press obtained.

“The current freight mobility system is not oriented towards energy efficiency and even less towards achieving carbon neutrality,” writes the independent committee responsible for advising the Quebec Minister of the Environment, which believes that growth greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from this sector reflect “the deficiency of the measures put in place” by Quebec.

Although the Quebec government’s Sustainable Mobility Policy – ​​2030 is inspired by the internationally recognized “Reduce – Transfer – Improve” approach, the proposed measures essentially fall under the third and final stage, neglecting the first two, deplores the opinion. .

Before improving the energy efficiency of freight transport, as Quebec is trying to do, we must first seek to reduce transport needs, then opt for less energy-intensive modes of transport to meet the needs that remain, explain authors.

“A real vision of decarbonized transport still remains to be implemented, we don’t have that,” declared in an interview with The Press professor of environmental economics at the University of Sherbrooke Alain Webster, who chairs the committee. “There is work to be done, the government must innovate. »

Charge the trucks

To encourage the transfer of a “significant” portion of the movement of goods from truck to train or boat, the committee recommends imposing a kilometric contribution for trucking.

Such a measure would reduce the financial attractiveness of road transport and make it assume the “external costs” associated with it, such as road degradation, congestion, air pollution, noise pollution, accidents and acceleration of climate change, explains the opinion.

Heavy transport generates external costs of $864 million per year in Quebec, including $34 million only for the portion of Route 138 between Tadoussac and Sept-Îles, underlines the opinion, citing two studies, adding that this is the All taxpayers who bear these costs, while the rail and maritime industries pay for most of their infrastructure.

“It’s not that we want to tax more, it’s that we want [la répartition des coûts] be fairer,” indicated to The Press Matthieu Mondou, responsible for researching and writing the opinion, adding that such a measure would have the positive effect of “freeing up the lanes” for motorists.

Rail and maritime strategy

Quebec should also implement a rail and maritime strategy favoring a significant modal transfer, recommends the opinion, suggesting locations for the deployment of new rail links, regional port facilities and intermodal transfer centers.

Transporting the same quantity of goods requires 92% less fuel by train than by truck, and 86% less by boat, the authors point out, adding that the number of workers required is also much lower in the maritime and railway.

Transport by truck should be reserved for distances of less than 200 kilometers, which would respond to the autonomy issues linked to the electrification of these vehicles and would make the sector more attractive by eliminating long journeys, supports the committee.

Quebec can also have an impact on reducing transport demand by promoting the circular economy, the collaborative economy and eco-design, which promote “material sobriety” by reducing the quantity of goods having to be transported, underlines the notice.

It is also important to optimize truck transport to reduce empty trips, which represent up to 37% of the total in Quebec, according to a study by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility of Quebec, adds the document.

“Vicious circle” to break

Decades of government investment in road infrastructure fostered the development of heavy road transport, leading to a “logistics lock-in” that is now self-reinforcing, the notice said.

“By favoring road transport, to the detriment of rail and maritime transport, public authorities are stimulating business investment in warehouses, in production sites and in logistics centers near new road infrastructures”, which fixes demand and strengthens trucking’s comparative advantage, the authors explain.

This “vicious circle” is not easy to break, recognizes Alain Webster, but it demonstrates that “adequate investments” could have a positive impact on the development of maritime and rail transport.

Heavy road vehicles in Quebec emitted 6.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO eq.₂) in 2021, or 8.7% of Quebec’s total GHG emissions.

This is an increase of 61% compared to their 1990 level, significantly greater than the increase in population and gross domestic product, while Quebec’s total emissions decreased by 8.1% during the same period.