(New York) The Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, praised his environmental record Tuesday during a meeting of representatives of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance group. Former US Vice President Al Gore was among them.
“We are working to make green aluminum, green steel, electric buses. And we’re going to build it all with clean energy,” the Prime Minister said in English while sitting right next to Al Gore, who was chairing the session.
François Legault also explained to his colleagues that Quebec had ceased the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons and that it was going to sell clean energy from hydroelectricity to New York.
PHOTO THOMAS LABERGE, THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, and the former American vice-president, Al Gore
The meeting took place in a room of the General Delegation of Quebec in New York. Mr. Legault also drew a parallel between the distinctive identity of Quebec and its actions for the environment.
“I am very proud to be able to say that if we look at the level of greenhouse gases per person, we have the lowest rate in Canada and the lowest in the United States,” he said. .
“The future of humanity is at stake”
The former vice president of the United States – who is also known to be a strong defender of the environmental cause – made a plea against fossil fuels.
“We will only truly begin to solve the climate crisis when we begin to rapidly transition away from coal, gas and oil,” he said.
The former vice-president also launched a call for mobilization. “Climate despair is, in itself, a form of denial. We have no time to despair. We have work to do. The future of humanity is at stake,” he insisted.
The Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance group brings together governments working to phase out oil and gas production. Quebec is one of them, as are France, Ireland and Portugal, among others. It is led by the governments of Denmark and Costa Rica.