MONTREAL – “Build it and they will come,” repeated the solidaires, presenting their plan to reduce GHGs by 55% by 2030. Québec solidaire plans to invest $74 billion over 8 years, mainly in public transit, in order to change the habits of Quebecers without imposing too many constraints on motorists.
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With this more consensual approach, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois wants in particular to avoid targeting a segment of the population more resistant to the ecological transition. In France, for example, measures on gasoline have led to demonstrations of yellow vests.
“If we do it wrong, if we do it all wrong, the ecological transition can create tension in society, that’s what we’ve seen in France. But if we go about it as people do, if we do this with people, it can be a social project that can bring people together, ”explained the spokesperson for Québec solidaire.
The left-wing formation unveiled its Vision 2030 plan on Sunday at the Maison de la culture in Montreal. This is its roadmap to achieve its ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared to 1990 by 2030. Quebec’s current target is 37.5%.
For citizens, the QS climate plan mainly revolves around a vast project on public transport. The training also wants to discourage car use, by imposing “penalties” on the purchase of more polluting petrol vehicles (202 grams of CO2 per 100 km) representing an average of 15% of the purchase price between 2023 and 2030.
A Nissan Qashqai, for example, would fall into this category.
However, several exemptions would be possible, for families with more than two children, as well as for all “F-plated” vehicles for work.
QS would also bring forward the ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles to 2030, against 2035 currently, in addition to banning gas-powered vehicles on the roads of Quebec as of 2040.
Public transport
In return, QS is promising massive investments in public transit, the bulk of its $74 billion capital plan over 8 years. In a first mandate, $29 billion would be devoted to it.
Thus, a united government would thus create two new public corporations, Québec rail and Québec bus, in order to build an interurban transport network to link cities together.
The title of public transport tickets would also be reduced by 50%.
Also, a united government would also invest between public transit and the road network, in addition to setting up intermunicipal boards for public transit in all regions of Quebec.
New highways would be limited to those for road safety reasons or to open up communities. In other words, the party would go ahead with the extension of Autoroute 20 in the East and Autoroute 50. But the extension of Autoroute 25 and the 3rd link between Quebec and Lévis would fall by the wayside.
Tighten the screw to big emitters
Opposite strategy for large emitters, a united government would impose significant constraints on them.
The caps of the carbon exchange’s cap and trade system would be lowered. Companies should also reduce their emissions locally by 70% by 2030, rather than relying on carbon credits purchased in California.
Quotas would also be imposed on these major polluters. Any overrun would incur a tax of $100 per ton, then gradually to $205 per ton by 2030.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois believes that replacement technologies often already exist for these major polluters, but that the Carbon Exchange “does not currently put enough pressure” to force companies to go green. “She gives them too many privileges,” he says. So, there are companies for which it is more profitable to continue to pollute, rather than to improve their processes. Our deterrent tax will reverse that. »
Where the green alternative does not exist, “we will give more time”, he assures.
For affected workers, a requalification fund of $50 million is planned to either acquire the new skills necessary for the transition or a new job. “No one is going to lose their job in Quebec because of the ecological transition,” assures Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
Figured plan, but not very detailed
All week, the spokesperson for Québec solidaire has promised a quantified GHG reduction plan. The document unveiled on Sunday presents the number of megatons saved according to three main categories, namely the technical-economic potential (main measures that would lead to a 41.5% reduction in GHGs), nature-based solutions (such as protected areas) and “dynamic effects”.
This last category (which accounts for 7.7 megatons out of a total of 47.6) was not accounted for by the expert firm that validated the QS model. Rather, it is the party’s assessment of the impact of its plan.
However, the Québec solidaire plan does not detail the impact of each of the proposed measures. The team explains that the model of the firm selected to validate the plan does not allow for such a level of detail.
The QS plan was modeled by the firm Esmia Consultants, with the support of Dunsky Energy + Climate. They submitted the solidarity proposals to the same technical and economic optimization model as that used by the Quebec government, says QS.
Eight independent experts have also validated the Vision 2030 plan.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois assures that the plan unveiled on Sunday will become “a turning point” in his campaign and promises to place all the issues of the campaign under the umbrella of climate issues.
Other measures contained in the QS climate plan
- Establish a binding carbon budget
- Submitting all government decisions to a climate assessment
- Create Regional Transition Councils to respect local realities
- Protect 30% of Quebec’s territory by 2030
- Publicize any support for meeting climate standards
- Eliminate at source any waste that can be
- Creation of joint employer-worker committees in companies emitting more than 10,000 tonnes of CO2 per year