This text is taken from Courrier de la planète. To subscribe, click here.
The coming fall promises several hot environmental issues, here and internationally. The Duty Today we present five that you should watch.
Federal decree to protect forest caribou
The tension between the Legault and Trudeau governments is not about to ease over the woodland caribou issue. Quebec has refused to participate in consultations on Ottawa’s “emergency decree,” which end on September 15.
It is only after these consultations that we will know the details of the measures planned to protect the forest ecosystems essential to the survival of three populations on the verge of extinction: those of Val-d’Or, Charlevoix and Pipmuacan. Their situation is so critical that the first two herds are now living in captivity to avoid their disappearance.
The federal intervention, which is planned under the Species at Risk Act, comes after several postponements of the presentation of a provincial strategy to prevent the disappearance of the woodland caribou, considered an indicator species of the health of the boreal forest. No fewer than 11 of the 13 populations that live in Quebec are threatened, mainly due to the impacts of the forestry industry.
The continuation of the Northvolt saga
Following the destruction of wetlands and wooded areas that served as habitats for dozens of wildlife species, some of which are threatened with extinction, Northvolt is actively working on preparing the site of its future industrial complex and building the first infrastructures.
The Swedish multinational has also been taking steps for several months to obtain the necessary permits to install its water pumping and discharge system in the Richelieu River to supply its factories. However, the risks of this crucial part of the megaproject are not known, since the company has not had to file an impact study detailing its intentions.
Northvolt also plans to submit the impact study for the Revolt battery recycling plant project by the end of the year, which will be subject to the environmental procedure imposed on all major industrial projects in Quebec.
COP16 on biodiversity
At the UN Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) held in Montreal at the end of 2022, the international community succeeded in adopting the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”. Countries thus committed in particular to protecting 30% of terrestrial and marine ecosystems by 2030, but also to restoring 30% of ecosystems already degraded by human activity.
The signatory countries of the agreement will meet in October in Cali, Colombia, to discuss the means to implement to respect the commitments made in Montreal, in a context of marked decline in biodiversity on a global scale. The hardest part is therefore yet to come: moving from words to actions. Will the governments of Quebec and Canada take advantage of the opportunity to make announcements with a view to achieving their objectives by the end of the decade?
In its most recent opinion, the Expert Group on Adaptation to Climate Change urged the Quebec government to stop the destruction of natural environments and work to restore those that have been degraded by human activity, including forests, in order to protect against the impacts of the climate crisis.
The World Climate Conference
The year 2024 is on track to be the hottest on record. And despite significant progress in renewable energy and increasing climate commitments, the planet remains on a warming trajectory that directly threatens humanity.
It is in this context that the international community will meet in November in Azerbaijan, a country heavily dependent on fossil fuels, to try to advance the fight against the climate crisis.
At the end of a marathon of negotiations, COP28, held in December 2023 in the United Arab Emirates, produced a declaration in which countries around the world agreed on “the need for strong, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions” (GHG) that would keep alive the most ambitious objective of the Paris Agreement, namely to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era. But no specific targets or deadlines were included in the declaration.
According to the most recent available report, that of 2022, Canadian GHG emissions have increased. And more than ever, the fossil fuel industry weighs heavily in this issue. As for Quebec, emissions increased between 2020 and 2022.
A first underwater mining permit?
Nauru, a small Pacific island nation, is hoping to launch a new mining sector by shortly authorizing its first industrial offshore mining project. It should be noted that for the past year, despite the absence of international rules, any state has been able to submit an application for a mining contract on behalf of a company to the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
In this context, the Nauruan government took advantage of the recent meeting of the UN organization to announce that the file of NORI (Nauru Ocean Resources Inc.), a subsidiary of the Canadian company The Metals Company, which wants to exploit polymetallic nodules in the Pacific, is “in the process of being finalized.”
Although the debate over the relevance of launching humanity into a new phase of exploitation of planetary resources continues, the AIFM has already granted more than thirty exploration “contracts” valid for 15 years to various companies. These permits are found in the international waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.