With one billion more in the kitty which comes from the carbon market, the Legault government is able to show that the actions now defined and financed now meet 51% of its objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 37.5%. emissions (GHG) by 2030. In last year’s implementation plan, this percentage was 42%.
We are only halfway to the objective, but at least this annual rendering of accounts, based on learned calculations by the Department of Finance, allows us to see how far we still have to go, even if it is to criticize the CAQ government and the insufficiency of its Plan for a green economy.
This accounting, which we must believe to be rigorous, is the positive aspect of this annual meeting. On the other hand, the Trudeau government, if it is true that its objective is more ambitious, namely between 40% and 45% reduction, does not tell us how it will fulfill its commitments. It is better to know what to stick to concretely rather than to see tartufes draping themselves in a virtue that only vagueness can maintain.
A good part of the additional billion, or some 400 million, will swell the financial assistance provided to the industrial sector, in particular to large emitters, an envelope which will increase to 1.3 billion in five years. For Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the CAQ applies “the polluter paid principle”, an opinion shared by Patrick Bonin of Greenpeace, who would like us to drastically reduce subsidies to the industry.
Québec solidaire adopted a resolution last fall raising the goal of reducing GHG emissions to at least 55% by 2030 to get as close as possible to 65%, the target that QS activists wanted the party embrace. Why stop now while everything is going so well ? Why not a reduction of 75% or even 100%? one might ask.
In this one-upmanship, QS forgets to tell us what means a supportive government would use to reduce emissions from the industrial sector, emissions that represent 29% of the total in Quebec. It must be understood that not only would this government not subsidize the major emitters so that they reduce their emissions significantly, but that it would add to their costs on top of what they pay out in carbon credits. QS would undoubtedly succeed since such a program would lead to the closure of many industrial installations and, hence, a drastic reduction in emissions. Closing the factories is one of the most effective measures to achieve its objectives in the fight against climate change, but it must be admitted that it seems oddly simplistic.
The CAQ government is right to invest in reducing industrial pollution. This is one of the ways to quickly obtain convincing results.
In the 2022-2027 implementation plan unveiled Thursday by the Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Benoit Charette, there are, moreover, few new measures in the transport sector. Basically, the minister announced $115 million for the electrification of buses and $46 million for trucking. The transportation sector accounts for 43% of GHG emissions in Quebec. Only 48% of the reductions by 2030 are covered by the government plan.
In his last budget, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, reduced the subsidy for the purchase of electric cars by $1,000. It is still expected that the number of these vehicles on our roads will increase from 1.5 million by 2030, a figure contained in last year’s plan, to 1.6 million. For the time being, it is difficult to go any faster: the builders are unable to meet the demand and the waiting lists are getting longer. This is a good sign: it testifies to the interest of consumers. Manufacturers will come one day or another to increase their offer.
But the plan to fight climate change cannot rely almost exclusively on the electrification of the solo car. Minister Charette indicated that the annual review of the plan should allow an increase of 6% to 8% of the five-year envelope, which amounts to 7.6 billion. Apart from the carbon pricing imposed on companies, the Legault government is reluctant to use the levers of eco-taxation. His plan is therefore incomplete. And it is the most obvious and “easiest” measures that are implemented first. The closer we get to the 2030 deadline, the more demanding the actions will be. Collectively, we will not escape it.