(Glasgow) Quebec joins an alliance that bans oil exploration and exploitation, but asks Canada to do the same, and quickly.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Prime Minister François Legault announced Thursday that Quebec is joining the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) association, along with Costa Rica and Denmark.
Almost at the same time, the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, announced that the federal government was going to end new direct public funding for the exploitation of coal, oil and gas by the end of 2022. .
But this is not enough, pleaded Mr. Legault. He noted that Justin Trudeau would end the export of coal in 2030, but we should not stop there, he said.
“We must go even further,” said Mr. Legault at the final press conference of his mission in Glasgow. I understand that this poses big challenges in Alberta and Saskatchewan ”, two oil and gas producing provinces.
He acknowledged that for a hydrocarbon producer like Alberta, this cannot be done overnight, but that he wants the federal government to financially support the affected provinces during their transition.
Mr. Legault also said he was going to talk about BOGA to his counterparts in other provinces.
Quebec’s membership in the BOGA has few consequences for the moment since the activities of oil and gas companies are very limited in Quebec. However, those companies that hold rights are already claiming compensation for the permissions and rights they have to give up.