(Quebec) The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy have enabled Quebec to significantly exceed its objectives for the year 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below their 1990 level, with a drop of 26.6% rather than the targeted 20%. However, the end of the health measures risks influencing the next assessment, and this gain on the initial objective could melt away.
The Ministry of the Environment did not release Wednesday its estimate of the impacts of the pandemic on the increase in GHG reductions in the province, compared to what was expected. He promises to disclose this figure later, for example by comparing the results for the year 2020 to the GHG emissions emitted the following year, with the economic recovery.
Quebec’s objective is to reduce its GHG emissions by 37.5% by 2030 below their 1990 level. billion over five years, and has so far identified around 50% of the measures to reach its 2030 target.
Calculation details
In 2020, the government aimed to reduce its GHG emissions by 20% below their 1990 level. In the end, it will have achieved a reduction of 26.6%. the Report on the achievement of Québec’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2020released Wednesday, establishes that the net balance of GHG emissions for the province was 62.6 million tonnes in CO equivalent2 (Mt CO eq.2) in 2020. Concretely, GHG emissions thus decreased by 10.5% in 2020 compared to 2019, which is equivalent to a decrease of 13.2% below their 1990 level.
However, to calculate a 26.6% reduction in GHG emissions in 2020 below their 1990 level, Québec includes its participation in the carbon market. This market, he recalls, “is a central element of Quebec’s strategy to fight climate change, since it forces large companies and citizens to opt, in a progressive and structured way, for activities of greater more low-carbon”, which allows “both governments to finance their climate actions”
So, in his Report on the net flows of greenhouse gas emission rights trading between Quebec and California for the period 2013-2020, which was also published on Wednesday, the government reveals “that in 2020, Quebec emitters purchased emission rights equivalent to reductions of 11.4 Mt eq. CO2 with its Californian partner.
“Under the liaison agreement concluded between the two parties, these reductions will only be counted by Quebec in the calculation of the achievement of its climate target. This reduction generated outside its territory and attributable to Quebec is therefore equivalent to a 13.4% reduction in Quebec’s GHG emissions for the year 2020.
A new dashboard
The Ministry of the Environment also unveiled on Wednesday a new dashboard, published online, which makes it possible to follow the evolution of the government’s climate action and the achievement of its GHG reduction targets by 2030.
Regarding electric vehicles on the roads, for example, the government calculates that, as of March 31, 2022, it has reached 8.6% of its target for 2030 on the number of light electric vehicles circulating in the province. It also calculates that it has reached 10% of its target for the percentage of electric taxis, 3.6% of the percentage of electric city buses and 3% of the percentage of electric school buses.
In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, the transportation sector is still the most polluting sector in Quebec, representing nearly 43% of all GHGs emitted in 2020. It is followed by industries (30.6 %), the agricultural sector (10.6%), buildings (9.6%) and residual materials (6.1%).