This is the beginning of a return of the climatic pendulum. After falling sharply in 2020, in the first pandemic year, polluting emissions in Quebec rebounded in 2021, accelerated by the resumption of road and industrial activity. And they could have climbed further in 2022.
This is the main finding of the Quebec government’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions report. Presented on Wednesday, it covers the period from 1er January 2021 to December 31, 2021. This two-year processing time is within the norm.
According to the document made public by the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, Quebec emitted 77.6 megatons of GHGs in CO equivalent2 during the year 2021. This is a drop of 8.9% compared to 1990 levels, or a quarter of Quebec’s climate targets.
Quebec records an increase of more than three megatons of GHGs compared to the first pandemic year. However, he does not observe a return to pre-COVID emissions levels (84.3 megatons).
For the first time since the Ministry of the Environment carried out this exercise, the report on government climate action also contains a forecast for the year 2022. This is based on preliminary data, but allows us to observe that there would have been a further increase last year. “Between 2019 and 2022, it is estimated that there has been a reduction of around 3 Mt eq. CO2or, on average, around one megaton per year,” writes the ministry.
Quebec is also pleased that the growth of the Quebec automobile fleet stabilized last year, which helped to stop the increase in polluting emissions from the transport sector.
The government aims to have reduced GHG emissions by 37.5% in 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
Further details will follow.