The entire Quebec government vehicle fleet, including heavy vehicles, will be completely zero emissions by 2040, the Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, Benoit Charette, pledged on Sunday.
While in Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26 on Sunday, Mr. Charette set this date to complete the transition to zero-emission vehicles for all heavy trucks in the Quebec government apparatus.
This new objective is in addition to that of completing the energy transition of the government’s light vehicles – automobiles, SUVs, vans and minivans – in 2030, as promised in the Plan for a Green Economy 2030 (PEV 2030) unveiled by Mr. Charette il a year ago.
At the same time, Quebec has made a commitment to make all its institutional buildings zero emissions, also by 2040.
In a press release, the Minister of the Environment reiterated that the Government of Quebec must set an example in the transition to electric vehicles to encourage companies to do the same.
Mr. Charette introduced a bill on October 5 that will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in 2035.
The Minister made these commitments at an event of the Under2 Coalition, a grouping of subnational governments that also includes Ontario, British Columbia, and several American states.
On Friday, the group also awarded the first prize of the Leadership Awards 2021 in the “Climate partnerships” category in Quebec for its collaboration with its peers to accelerate the decarbonization of the global economy.
The government also signed the declaration Further, Faster, Together: Leaders’Actions, which will push him in particular to prepare a national action plan on climate change.
On Sunday, Mr. Charette continued his work at COP26 by meeting with the ministers responsible for the fight against climate change in Scotland and Wales.